Niko's, a bar at 801 S. 2nd Street, was a short-lived venue known for alternative music and rough crowds. Owned by the hard-partying Nicholas "Niko" Stathas, the bar mixed hardcore punk music with blue-collar tavern vibes. Despite its eccentricities—like a "human buffet," Rocky Horror afterparties, glowing skulls, and rock-bottom drink prices — it lived fast, died young, and left a pretty corpse. After a New Year's Eve 1983 party, Niko's closed and the space was leased to George Prentice, who transformed it into the hugely successful La Cage.