MARK WAITE / PVT Crews for High Impact Signs get ready to hoist the sign for the new shopping center on Highway 160 last Monday. Advertisement

A conditional use permit was approved by the Pahrum Regional Planning Commission Wednesday for a bar with a dance hall and pool hall in one of the buildings at the new Edward Homes Professional Center on Highway 160 off Rainbow Avenue.

Ricardo Cortez, owner of the Radio Shack in Pahrump, plans to open a 2,700-square-foot lounge named "n-dulj" -- pronounced "indulge." A 1,000-square-foot liquor store would go up next to the bar.

It would be located in one of the front buildings on the north side. Consultant Curt Moen of M3 Planning and Consulting Group said the owners want to wait until the conditional use permit is approved before applying for the liquor license.

The plan is to have slot machines on the counter of the bar. A 500-square-foot area would be provided for dancing with another 500 square feet for billiard tables and dart boards

Cortez wrote in his application he intends to have four or five slot machines in the liquor store and offer monetary services like money orders and check cashing. The two businesses would be under separate management with different employees and no shared access.

Nye County commissioners approved the rezoning of the 1.14-acre property from open use to mixed use Oct. 18, 2006. The RPC vote is the final approval for the conditional use permit; it doesn't need further approval by the county commission unless there's an appeal.

RPC Chairman Mark Kimball joked, "It's a great country when someone can start a day care last month and a bar this month."

Moen received approval from the RPC last month for a child care facility to house 150 to 175 children on Sagebrush Avenue.

Moen said other tenants of the Edward Homes Professional Center will include a Japanese restaurant, a doctor's office and a bakery.

Construction on the shopping center began last spring. The shopping center is nearly complete now.