Un Mundo Cafe opening Friday, Heritage Center could reopen soon

Stephen Level and the crew at Un Mundo Cafe cleaning Monday as they get ready for their grand reopening on June 7. Un Mundo was closed for over a month due to water damage from a broken pipe on the third floor of the Clark County Heritage Center. BILL LACKEY/STAFF

Stephen Level and the crew at Un Mundo Cafe cleaning Monday as they get ready for their grand reopening on June 7. Un Mundo was closed for over a month due to water damage from a broken pipe on the third floor of the Clark County Heritage Center. BILL LACKEY/STAFF

The Clark County Heritage Center might reopen this month after a burst pipe flooded portions of the building and closed the museum for several weeks.

Also, employees at Un Mundo Cafe at the heritage center are preparing to reopen Friday. The same pipe caused the restaurant to be closed since late April.

The Heritage Center is a museum dedicated to teaching the history of Clark County, said historical society CEO Roger Sherrock.

“We are making good progress,” he said. “Depending on how fast some of the construction happens we might be open as soon as the middle of this month.”

He said the Heritage Center was able to open some of its galleries over the weekend during the farmer’s market and officials hope to open during regular business hours soon.

A pipe burst in the building on April 25 caused damage to floors and ceilings. None of the museum’s gallery rooms, where some of the museum’s most valuable objects are located, sustained any damage.

But the rooms where the archives are stored did get damaged, and the artifacts had to be moved into the main gallery. Sherrock said little to no damage was sustained by the artifacts themselves.

The situation has caused the heritage center to be closed for more than a month.

Sherrock said the timeline to reopen permanently is fluid because the length of construction is tough to predict.

“We are waiting for the flooring to be replaced and waiting on HVAC work to be finished,” he said. “When those two things are done we can start moving our shelving units and then putting every back.”

He said he will be happy when he can welcome guests back to the museum on a regular basis.

Also, Un Mundo Cafe Owner and operator Duke Level said his restaurant is expected to open Friday. A grand reopening is set for 5 p.m.

“We are so excited to be open,” he said. “We miss our customers and all this happening to finally be open feels great.”

He said the restaurant is introducing its new gourmet hot dogs and will feature its new selection of craft beers Friday.

“It should be a good time and people seem very excited to come out to see us.”

Level said a lot of work has been done to ensure their space was good to open. Contractors had to repair drywall and repaint.

The staff also had to replace and paint ceiling tiles. All this was done while working with the Clark County Combined Health District, Level said.

“We’ve already talked with them and they will be in this week to take a look at everything,” he said.

As part of the grand reopening, Level said the cafe will be giving out merchandise and gift certificates. The cafe was able to give out free coffee at the farmer’s market, he said.

Meanwhile, Snow Cove opened for the summer a couple of weeks ago. The popular downtown snow cone shop was unaffected by the flooding and has been operating during normal business hours.

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