A burger called the Ghost appears on two menus, one in the desert the Review-Journal places about 40 miles southwest of Las Vegas and one on Southern Highlands Parkway. One copy is in a 1913 saloon in Goodsprings, where the Pioneer Saloon describes it as a quarter-pound Angus patty with lettuce, tomato, onion, jalapeño bacon and the house "Ghost sauce." The other is at the top of the featured items at Mama Tess's Artisan Kitchen in Southern Highlands.
The same people run both. Stephanie "Mama Tess" Richter opened Mama Tess's this summer at 11350 Southern Highlands Parkway, Suite 125. She and her husband, Stephen "Old Man Liver" Staats, also own the Pioneer Saloon, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. That connection makes the oldest bar in Southern Nevada feel close to the neighborhood. On Saturday, October 17, the Southern Highlands Fall Festival and the saloon's own Goodscreams festival are spaced so you can do both in one day.
The Parkway end of the family business
Mama Tess's held its grand opening in late August with an open house and free samples. 8 News Now reported that Richter spent more than 30 years in gaming hospitality and operations before leaving the corporate world in 2023. She then partnered with Staats on several ventures, including the Pioneer Saloon, where some of her signature creations first appeared.
The menu covers soups, salads, sandwiches, burgers, house-made desserts and milkshakes. The featured items besides the Ghost Burger are The Classic, Hot Ham & Honey, BLT 2.0, Farmhouse Cobb and a chocolate chip cookie. Local coverage says some dishes started in Goodsprings but doesn't list which ones. The only name that clearly appears on both menus is the Ghost.
Richter described the idea in a statement that both outlets quoted:
"I wanted to create an inviting menu and ambiance, someplace that I would like to visit. The menu items are based on dishes that I make at home for family and friends, so Mama Tess's is an extension of that."
Regular hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and Sunday, and 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The Saturday closing time comes up again later in this post.
The Goodsprings end, and why it draws a crowd
The Pioneer Saloon is at 310 W. Spring St. on State Route 161, just west of Jean. The Review-Journal puts it about 35 minutes south of Las Vegas on Interstate 15. Travel Nevada says Clark County Commissioner George Fayle built it in 1913. At its peak, Goodsprings had 800 residents and about half a dozen saloons, and it worked as an entertainment destination for early Las Vegas.
The building's stories are part of its appeal, and that ties directly to the October festival. Travel Nevada lists what's still inside:
- Bullet holes from a 1915 card game in which a miner was shot. The coroner's report is kept at the saloon, and the bartender can point out the holes.
- A room of memorabilia from the January 16, 1942, plane crash on nearby Mount Potosi. The search party started at the Pioneer. The adjacent room displays a piece of the plane and newspaper coverage.
- Stamped tin walls made by Sears and Roebuck, thought to be some of the last of their kind in the country.
- A mahogany bar built in the early 1860s in Brunswick, Maine. It went by sea around Cape Horn to San Francisco, then by ox wagon to Rhyolite, and finally to Goodsprings.
The saloon was added to the State Register of Historic Places in 2007, and Travel Channel's "Ghost Adventures" is among the productions filmed there. That filming history connects to the evening event on October 17.
October 17, hour by hour
The Southern Highlands Fall Festival runs at Goett Family Park from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The second annual Goodscreams paranormal festival opens at the Pioneer Saloon at 5 p.m. Two hours between the events is enough for the drive and still leaves time to spare.
| Time | Where | What's scheduled |
|---|---|---|
| 11:00 a.m. | Goett Family Park | Fall Festival opens |
| 11:30 a.m. | Main stage | World Acro LV performance |
| 1:00 p.m. | Main stage | World Acro LV performance |
| 1:30 p.m. | Main stage area | Costume contest, no registration needed |
| 2:00 p.m. | Goett Family Park | Raffle |
| 3:00 p.m. | Goett Family Park | Festival closes |
| 5:00 p.m. | Pioneer Saloon, Goodsprings | Goodscreams opens |
| 10:00 p.m. | Pioneer Saloon | Goodscreams general session ends |
| About 11:00 p.m. | Pioneer Saloon | VIP private investigation begins, lasting about one to two hours |
Beyond the stage schedule, the Fall Festival has a pumpkin patch, inflatable games and slides, a climbing wall, face painting, BINGO and local food trucks. Proceeds go to the Southern Highlands Boys & Girls Club.
Goodscreams fills the saloon's dining room, which the organizers call haunted, plus the patio deck and event center. The program includes live panels, meet-and-greets, vendors, paranormal tours and a pumpkin-carving contest. All ages are welcome, though organizers say some images and experiences may be scary and intense, and they ask parents to keep that in mind. General admission was listed at $15 through October 1, so check the current gate price before you go.
The VIP package costs $300 and is limited to guests 21 and older. It includes 10% off food and drinks that evening and a private paranormal investigation with Jay Wasley of "Ghost Adventures." The investigation starts around 11 p.m., after the saloon closes.
Pumpkins come up at both events, from the patch at Goett Family Park in the afternoon to the carving contest in Goodsprings in the evening. If you'd rather keep the saloon connection on the Parkway, Mama Tess's is open until 10 p.m. that Saturday.
Planning the drive back up I-15
The drive north after dark needs the most planning. Travel Nevada advises having a confirmed way both to and from the Pioneer Saloon. Rideshare drivers may drop you off, but getting a ride back to Las Vegas can be much harder without arranging it ahead of time. For VIP guests, an investigation that starts around 11 p.m. and runs one to two hours ends somewhere between midnight and 1 a.m., 35 minutes from home.
Published hours for the saloon don't match. The Pioneer's site lists 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday through Sunday, and says the bar usually stays open an hour later. Travel Nevada's 2024 listing shows longer hours. Call ahead before planning a regular visit. According to the saloon, parties of 15 or more need reservations, all ages are welcome, and the patio is dog-friendly.
Goodsprings is a short walk to explore. Travel Nevada recommends buying the town's walking-tour map at the bar. The Goodsprings Historical Society notes that every stop on the tour is privately owned, so view the sites from the street.
Two more dates on the same road
The Pioneer stays busy into November. Mojave Mayhem is a post-apocalyptic fan celebration with cosplay, camping, guests, film and music, centered on the 1913 saloon. It marks its fifth anniversary Friday, November 13, through Sunday, November 15, 2026. Ticket sales close at midnight on November 11, and no tickets are sold at the gate.
Back in the neighborhood, the Southern Highlands HOA's Winter Festival and Tree Lighting is on Friday, December 4, from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Southern Highlands Corporate Center, 11411 Southern Highlands Parkway. The tree is lit at 5:30 p.m. Crafts, letters to Santa, hot cocoa, inflatables and a vendor village are free. Photos with Santa and characters, along with train rides, are donation-based. The Corporate Center is on the same parkway as Mama Tess's, at 11411 to the restaurant's 11350.
The Prinsloo Group works in Southern Highlands every week, and we follow new openings like Mama Tess's because they change what it's like to live here. If you're curious how this corner of the Parkway is shaping up, or what your home here would be worth in today's market, we're happy to talk it through. Explore Properties & Request a Valuation.
