The brewery won several awards for its beers, although the property ultimately closed in March 2002, because of a decline in tourism caused by the September 11 attacks.

During 2005, the building was used as a sales office for two separate high-rise condominium projects, including the Ivana Las Vegas, which was to replace the Holy Cow before ultimately being cancelled later that year.

The deli was the first restaurant on the Las Vegas Strip to allow black people, and was popular among celebrities, local business leaders, and tourists for its fresh food that was flown in from Los Angeles on a daily basis.

[8] The Holy Cow operated as part of Wiesner's Big Dog's Hospitality Group, which consisted of a chain of local bar-restaurants.

Big Dog's Hospitality Group planned to ultimately move brewing operations to the company's Draft House Barn & Casino in North Las Vegas.

[14][20] In 2004, plans were announced to replace the Holy Cow with a $700 million, 940-foot condominium tower called The Summit, to be financed by Australian developer Victor Altomare.

[21] By January 2005, the Holy Cow had been converted into a $1 million sales office for Altomare's other condominium project, Liberty Tower.

[23] Trump added pink awnings to the Holy Cow building when it was reopened as a temporary sales office for Ivana Las Vegas, which was ultimately cancelled later that year.

[24][25] In September 2007, Steven Johnson, a real estate developer from Arizona, purchased the property for $47 million through his company, Aspen Highlands Holdings, LLC.

Because of the high cost for the land, Johnson hoped to sell the air rights to the property, allowing others to construct a casino and high-rise hotel or condominium project atop the Walgreens store.

The new project would be designed by Albuquerque architect George Rainhart, and would include a 137-foot half-moon shaped welcome sign that would mark the gateway to Las Vegas city limits.

A 547-foot sign had initially been proposed, but was withdrawn for the time as it was considered uneconomical to build and had been opposed by the Las Vegas Planning Commission because of its height.