“ YOU WOULD BE PERFECT FOR THIS BAR IN LAS VEGAS… the Infamous Bartenders of Hogs – Suzi’s Story

The Story of Suzi.

“YOU WOULD BE PERFECT FOR THIS BAR IN LAS VEGAS…

If only I knew what I was getting myself Into! I’m from Detroit Michigan. Let me tell you how awkward I felt there… I’m this dreaded tatted up Arabic chick in a city full of conservatives, I would get looked at and made fun of all the time. My confidence was shit!

So I used to work at a biker bar as my second job. First job I worked at Mooses Martini Bar in Dearborn… I LOVED THAT JOB! I felt like myself there. Little did I know I was one step away from being home. So anyways, I’m at my second job and I’m doing my thing… and one of my regulars Rich said “ you know you would be perfect for this bar in Las Vegas” and I said “Oh? What bar!?” “Hogs & Heifers” he said!

I was already planning on going to Las Vegas for the first time ever for EDC in 2017. Rich contacted a manager at the time named Kelly, who is still a very close friend of mine ! ( I love you Kelly! Crazy woman) so let’s sum it up… I walk in for my first interview a day or two before the festival. I’m in some shorts a crop top with some high heals. It was during the day, like 2pm. I had to dance on the bar with literally like fucking 3 people in the bar. “ this isn’t a fucking strip club I wanna see you shake that ass on the damn bar “screams a bartender”. “You got it! I’m going to drop this ass!” I yelled , lol. In my head I’m like yeah you bad bitch get this shit! If Detroit taught me anything, it’s how to shake my ass.

I was feeling the music and was just having a good time. At that moment on top of the bar, I just knew I was home. Now I just have to get hired!

Kelly sits me down for the rest of my interview… if anyone knows Kelly, there was a lot of intense eye locking, a few judging looks and a Kelly attitude. In my head I said “either she fucking loves me or I’m not getting the job and she’s going to kick my ass”. I got a second interview!!

I went to EDC (Electronic Daisy Carnival) and partied my ass off!! I received a phone call from another manager Tiffany to set up a second interview. Mind you, I’ve been partying my ass off for days now! I still was ready to kill this interview! I just can taste it! I want this job so badly. Tiffany walks up to me and introduces herself and she’s all smiling and cute, you know, being Tiffany. I’m feeling good and pretty confident at this point. I know if I get this job right now I’m packing up my shit in Michigan and I’m moving out here! We make it through the interview and Tiffany turns to me and says “ well here’s the deal, I like you and I want to hire you” … I’m trying to not jump out of my seat! I did it! I got the job and sure as shit I got home to Detroit packed my shit and was starting at Hogs & Heifers a month and a half later.

I had NO IDEA how hard this job would be. I had NO IDEA I would go from a girl to a woman because of this job. I hate calling it a “ job” hogs and heifers is a lifestyle. That’s why we call it #HOGSLIFE . From the other side of the bar it looks like so much fun and easy… it is SO MUCH FUN but one thing it’s not is easy. I can’t express how many times I’ve had to run to bathroom to cry or just take a breather for a second. I had such a hard time with the music for YEARS! I knew one song on that juke box when I got hired and it was “ old time rock and roll” by Bob Seager .
I didn’t know who Johnny Cash was. No clue who ZZ Top was. Literally clueless! Needless to say, I had some work to do. Lucky for me, I’m funny as fuck so that helped me until I was able to catch up to speed.
Once I kind of got the hang of things I took it and ran with it! Ran right into a damn wall , had some rough times…. but then picked it back up and ran with it again and I’m not running into any more walls! I LOVE WHAT I DO. Hogs and heifers to me is my dream job. Hands down.

I went from not having anyone out here in Vegas to having an entire family. Most of my closest friends I have met through hogs. It brings a rare group of people together. A bunch of rebels with hearts of gold. Misunderstood and faced with challenges… together we all accept each other for exactly who we are. When I say hogs family it’s not just the people who work there is anyone and everyone that feels like when they walk into that bar they feel home.

I’ll never forget the first time I actually met Michelle. I hadn’t met her yet because she was going back and forth from New York at the time. So when I saw her I was like this is my chance! I was going to the back to pee and Michelle was walking by. I literally grabbed her hand and pulled her into the bathroom with me so I could pee! ( time is money and I know this) so I’m just peeing and talking Michelle’s head off and she’s just like just looking at me , lol.
I’m sure she thought I was absolutely freaking crazy. Which I am!

Clogging… I don’t know why but I just couldn’t freaking grasp it for years! I just got decently good like a year ago. I remember my first year and it was like a week before rally in the ally … I was still seriously struggling with clogging. I saw my mangers watching me through the doors to the back of house. I SERIOUSLY FREAKED OUT! I was on the bar literally crying like a dweeb . They pulled me off the bar because I had hyperventilated myself into a full blown anxiety attack! They had to calm me down and explain it’s just dancing… I didn’t get any better after that for at least another year and half. Now, clogging is one of my favorite parts of the job! It went from giving me the worst anxiety … to the biggest rush I’ve ever felt! There is just something about stomping on the bar with your ladies by your side and a packed bar ! The energy is fucking wild!! Nothing like I’ve ever felt and it’s addicting.

The things that I have learned just by working have helped me so much in my personal life. I found my voice at hogs! I remember when Tiffany would always get on me “ what!? We can’t hear you!” And for a while I thought she was picking on me … but I was just talking like a freaking mouse. Now you can’t get me to shut the hell up! I will always be Greatful for the opportunity that has been given to me. It takes a certain breed to work at Hogs and Heifers … and I’ve had the time of my life!

I’ve been at Hogs& Heifers for three years now. I feel like my journey is just now beginning and I’m so excited for what is to come! I can’t express how much this place has changed my life. The people I have met are amazing. Every interaction is so organic and real! I still have a long journey here at Hogs & Heifers… I can’t wait to make new memories with everyone!

When my journey ends, I know that hogs will always live inside of me.

It’s my home, my safe place and where I party!

#HOGSLIFE BABY

Vibe high <3

Suzi Butts

The History of Hogs & Heifers Saloon

The idea for opening a bar and calling it Hogs & Heifers was conceived in, of all places, a bar. Allan Dell was a self-proclaimed functioning alcoholic and figured he spent enough time sitting at a bar and that he might as well make some money while he sat there. Allan’s two friends and drinking buddies were a Master Carpenter and a Graphic Design Artist and he talked them into helping him build a bar. They would all drink for free and get laid regularly and for three broke guys in their early to mid twenties, who could ask for anything more. Allan’s father agreed to finance his project if he could find an experienced bar owner to “father” him in the business. Enter Tom McNeil, legend in the Dive Bar business. McNeil owned the Village Idiot in Manhattan’s East Side, which was the Boys’ favorite watering hole, where they could sit for hours drinking ice cold Pabst Blue Ribbon for a $1.75 a can. Allan knew that he wanted to open a bar that had to do with motorcycles and women and the original logo did, in fact, include an illustration of a chopper. The Boys were trying to come up with a name, while sitting in the Village Idiot one afternoon…”Hogs & something”. On the wall above the bar was a sign for a Heifer Auction, and a heifer being a cow that has not yet been bred, is essentially a virgin cow. The name Hogs & Heifers was born. The fact that the bar ended up being in a real meat market was simply due to the affordable rent at the time, but it was a perfect match and had a great deal to do with the success of the business.

Hogs & Heifers Saloon was to be an all American classic country and southern rock-n-roll dive bar. Allan knew he wanted it to have the look and feel of a gin mill and that he wanted to hang “stuff” all over the walls. Other than that, there was little else that he had thought about. He had a lot of friends who liked to drink and planned on throwing a party for them every night. Allan may never have imagined that it would turn into the famous bar it is today, but it was absolutely his pride and joy and he considered it his greatest achievement and reveled in its quick success.

The History of Hogs & Heifers Saloon

Having entered the picture prior to its opening, Michelle Dell was the first bartender to be hired. The routine performed and style of dress worn by the bartenders behind the bar, which has made Hogs & Heifers famous, was born from Michelle’s heart. Hogs & Heifers opened in November of 1992 during an unseasonably cold winter. There was literally no heat source of any kind in the bar and it was so cold you could often see your own breath. Both Allan and Michelle believed in the notion of less is more when it came to dressing behind the bar and it was always freezing; did we mention the bar had no heat? Finally, Allan bought these little space heaters that did next to nothing to provide heat and with Necessity being the Mother of all Invention, Michelle began dancing on the bar–in the empty bar–as a means to keep warm. She would throw a few dollars in the jukebox and just get up on the bar and dance. Little did she know it would become the trademark theme of Hogs & Heifers and lead to countless celebrities dancing on the bar and donating their bras. The Julia Roberts photo was seen around the world and her bra still hangs there today, albeit hidden beneath some 18,000 bras! Michelle’s famous routine has inspired a Major Motion Picture and a league of copy cat Bars.

Essentially, Allan and Michelle, and their friends, were just a bunch of kids with nothing to lose and they threw a party that they enjoyed. They were fortunate and blessed that so many others would love to come to their party and would do so repeatedly. The two were married in Reno, Nevada, on November 16th, 1993. Allan Dell passed away on June 7, 1997. Hogs & Heifers continues to be run by Michelle Dell who was the sole proprietor of the New York City location. She now lives in Las Vegas, close to her favorite saloon!

CLICK HERE FOR A VIRTUAL TOUR OF THE ORIGINAL NEW YORK CITY LOCATION