The tiny town of Blue Diamond lies about 25 miles southwest of central Las Vegas, in the desert of Red Rock Canyon. The village, originally named Cottonwood Springs, served as a stop on the Old Spanish Trail for traders between New Mexico and California.
In the 1920s, after the Blue Diamond Company purchased the nearby gypsum mine and built housing for its workers, the hamlet was renamed Blue Diamond. The mine closed about 20 years ago, but the village still offers one of the most distinctive restaurant settings in the region.
That restaurant, Cottonwood Station, a name paying homage to village history, was recently purchased by Jeff Fisher, who provided key support (peeling onions to cleaning bathrooms) in 2022 when his wife, Oulay Fisher, founded Calabash African Kitchen, the Senegambian restaurant that ranks among the most distinctive in Vegas.
Desert gathering spot
Jeff Fisher bought Cottonwood Station from Steve Enger and Jody Lyman, a married couple who opened the place in 2018. The restaurant, after some initial concerns from residents about light and noise, has become a village gathering spot, and a gathering spot for hikers, climbers and mountain bikers coming off the canyon.
“I have been an avid mountain bike rider for 35-plus years and discovered (the area) back in 2010. I watched Cottonwood Station being built and have been visiting often with my friends after riding,” Fisher said. “When I saw it up for sale, I sent a link to my riding buddies. Knowing my restaurant experience, they said I should get it!”
Fisher said he initially hesitated, but talking with his wife, and a chance meeting (and subsequent discussion) with Lyman as he rode by on his mountain bike, led to taking over Cottonwood Station.
Muffins in the truck
Fisher pointed to the terrace as a showcase feature of the restaurant. The outdoor space offers sweeping views of the mountains, heated benches, a fire pit and seating inside the flatbed from an old mining truck.
The American menu features local craft beer, locally roasted coffee, baked goods made daily in-house (popular pairing: a latte and a muffin), and dishes such as vegetarian breakfast burritos, truffle fries, lox and toast, vegetarian pizzas, a BLT, a smashburger and a bread pudding sundae. Visit cottonwoodstationeatery.com.
Contact Johnathan L. Wright at jwright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @JLWTaste on Instagram.