GALLERY: Pinkbox Pahrump grand opening
When asked why Pahrump, owner of Pinkbox Stephen Siegel responds with, “why not?”
Thousands flooded to the south entrance of the Pahrump Nugget Hotel and Casino to get in line for a craft doughnut, something residents have been waiting for after rumors circulated for two years.
“Pahrump has been on our radar for a while,” said Michael Crandall, the chief business officer of Amazing Brands. “…We always felt, as we started to grow and open up more and more shops throughout Las Vegas, that we had to have a Pinkbox in Pahrump.”
Typically, the slot machines would catch casino-goers’ attention from the dimly-lit gaming floor, but near corner of the casino floor, patrons step into a world where everything is hot pink and doughnut-themed. Doughnut-shaped door handles, a statue of a pink doughnut, neon signs, sprinkle decorations, pink floors, pink doughnut case and pink lights. “Donut lick the wall,” reads a wall inside the doughnut shop.
“It’s Willy Wonka meets Disneyland,” Siegel said, describing the design for the doughnut shop.
Thousands gathered for dough
“Is this one of the biggest turnouts I’ve seen since we’ve been out here?” Eliot Ripoll said. “Absolutely.” Ripoll is the general manager and vice president of Golden Casino Group, which includes the Pahrump Nugget Hotel and Casino, Goldtown and Lakeside Casino and RV Park. This is the second collaboration the Golden Casino Group has worked with Amazing Brands after opening a Pinkbox inside the Edgewater Casino Resort.
At the ribbon-cutting ceremony and grand opening, Pinkbox hosted two doughnut-eating contests, one for the kids and the other for adults, around noon on Saturday. The first 10 kids to sign up were able to participate for a chance at winning a gift card for free doughnuts over a year. Within three minutes, the kids were to eat as many doughnut holes as possible with a bottle of water. At the end there was a tie between Emalea Riley and Zuko Garcia, with five doughnut holes.
In the adult competition, 10 competitors had to eat all six doughnuts within three minutes and Jonathan Lantow finished all six before the timer ran out. He won a year-long supply of donuts.
Those who waited in the line outside in the sun were given a free limited edition Pinkbox shirt after their doughnut purchase. The doughnuts are made fresh daily in a commissary kitchen in Las Vegas and are shipped to Pahrump daily. In fact, all Pinkbox doughnuts are made here and arrive at Pinkbox locations.
Local official approved
Siegel is the owner of Amazing Brands with his wife, Judith Perez Siegel, and owns Pinkbox Doughnuts and Bagelmania. Amazing Brands is separate from the Siegel Group, where Stephen Siegel has been the CEO and president of the company since 2001.
The Siegel Group owns and manages the Siegel Suites in Las Vegas, which are apartment complexes that offer affordable and flexible living.
All of the Pinkbox locations are not franchises, they are all owned and operated by Amazing Brands and the location in Pahrump is the company’s twelfth location.
“We looked all around here and there weren’t even doughnuts in town, there’s really no doughnuts in town,” Siegel said. “Being a Las Vegas-born staple brand we feel we have to go to all the communities around Vegas.”
Other than a couple of dozen jobs created in the town, Siegel said that Pinkbox is good at helping the community by supporting local organizations around town rather than turning them away. The company would like to get a better connection with the town and if organizations within Pahrump want to reach out, contact Contact@pinkboxdoughnuts.com.
Local officials, including Justice of the Peace Michele Fiore and Sheriff Joe McGill, with a deputy in uniform, were seen snacking on some doughnuts.
“When I came here last November, I called (the Siegels) and begged them to ‘please come out here’,” said Fiore, who has been friends with the Siegels for many years. “16 months later, we’re here.”
Contact Jimmy Romo at jromo@pvtimes.com. Follow @JimmyRomo.News on Instagram.
