Las Vegas is known around the world for its towering, glitzy casinos and as a rowdy place to cut loose.

And in a city synonymous with excess, there are also places serving up gluttonous milkshakes — blended ice cream topped with brownies, a slice of cheesecake, a donut or an ice-cream sandwich, and crammed with other treats.

Now, a local group is launching a chain of milkshake spots in the Las Vegas Valley, with the goal of selling a tasty, but not over-the-top, take on the dessert.

Shook Shakery plans to open four locations in Southern Nevada this year, and its signature — really, only — product is a milkshake mixed with cake.

The shakes come in 15 flavors, separated into three categories: The Classics, The Fancy, and The Fun. As the owners described it, the shakes will not be overly sweet, and the cake will be made in-house and incorporated into the creamy desserts to create texture.

The shakes are priced at $9, and the first location, on St. Rose Parkway in Henderson, is slated to open this summer. A specific date has not been released yet.

Shook Shakery partner Dena Tripp is no stranger to running a business with one product. She was the co-founder of Nothing Bundt Cakes, which, as the name implies, only makes Bundt cakes.

Dena Tripp stands for a portrait in the drive-thru lane of Shook Shakery’s first brick-and-morter location on Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Henderson. (Liv Paggiarino/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

The bakery chain started in Las Vegas, has hundreds of stores nationally, and has been sold from one private-equity firm to another.

Tripp, who stressed that Shook Shakery is a separate business that’s unaffiliated with the Bundt-cakes chain, said that a solo-product brand can be successful but that management must still be innovative, drive traffic, and never let the customers down.

Of course, any business venture has risks, and Tripp acknowledged that her group could face serious problems if their milkshakes don’t resonate with customers.

“However, we won’t let that happen. … That’s just not an option,” she said.

‘Shookies and Cream’

Designed as a retro-themed brand with Instagram-friendly photo opps, Shook Shakery will have drive-thru stores. There is no indoor seating, but the stores will have walk-up windows and some outdoor seating with umbrellas.

The business was launched by partners Tripp, Jessica Spencer, and Tripp’s son, Sean Tripp.

“We are trying to be a vibe and an experience more than just the milkshake itself,” Spencer said.

An artist’s rendering of a Shook Shakery location. The milkshake business plans to open four locations in the Las Vegas Valley in 2026. (Shook Shakery)

Spencer, who worked for years at Nothing Bundt Cakes in a variety of roles, from the bakery to research and development, said the milkshakes will not be overly indulgent.

As she described it, the owners are not making shakes that are crammed with every other dessert in the cup.

“That exists in Las Vegas,” Spencer said.

Still, their shakes are by no means just the usual chocolate or vanilla.

A milkshake by Shook Shakery, which plans to open four locations in the Las Vegas Valley in 2026. (Shook Shakery)

Shook Shakery’s decadent offerings include such flavors as Cinnamon Girl (vanilla ice cream and cinnamon swirl mixed with brown sugar cake); Pinky Promise (made with “subtle almond” and “sugar cookie magic,” mixed with pink cake); and Shookies and Cream (“Choco-crushed cookies” and vanilla ice cream mixed with chocolate cake).

The desserts will also be topped with a whipped frosting that, Dena Tripp says, is their own creation and holds its structure, unlike whipped cream, which typically melts quickly.

‘All with cash’

Plans call for stores on St. Rose near Maryland Parkway; on Blue Diamond Road near Decatur Boulevard in the southern valley; on Durango Drive at Post Road in the southwest valley; and on Deer Springs Way near Durango in the northwest valley.

The group is building three stores from the ground-up, with each of those newly developed locations slated to measure 900 square feet, according to project plans.

The only existing building in the bunch, on St. Rose, is a former drive-thru-only Starbucks that spans about 940 square feet, according to business-license and property records.

Tripp purchased that site in March and bought the land for the other stores over the past few years, property records show. She acquired the plots through a family investment company.

The operators decided to build their stores, and own their real estate, for a variety of reasons. As outlined by Tripp, they wanted to control the leases, and it was tough to find existing retail space that could accomodate a drive-thru-only concept.

Construction continues on Shook Shakery’s first brick-and-morter location on Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Henderson. (Liv Paggiarino/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

Plus, she noted, there was already plenty of competition for drive-thru buildings, including from coffee shops.

Overall, her team is spending around $12 million combined to build out the four locations, according to Tripp, who said that she is financing the rollout with proceeds from the sale of her interest in Nothing Bundt Cakes’ corporate side five years ago.

That deal, she noted, “gave us the opportunity to do this all with cash.”

Corporate buyouts

Dena Tripp and Debbie Shwetz launched Nothing Bundt Cakes in 1997 in their home kitchens in Las Vegas.

As Tripp recently recalled, they opened two stores locally, a third in Arizona, and then started franchising.

In 2016, private-equity firm Levine Leichtman Capital Partners announced that it had teamed with Nothing Bundt Cakes management to acquire the company.

At the time, the bakery chain had more than 175 locations in the U.S. and Canada.

Terms were not disclosed. A news release on the deal stated that Tripp would retain significant ownership in the company and serve as its chairperson.

The interior of Nothing Bundt Cakes is shown at 8320 W. Sahara Ave. in Las Vegas on Friday, Oct. 23, 2015. (Bill Hughes/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

She said in the release that Levine Leichtman’s “franchise expertise and resources will be critical in helping us move into our next phase of growth.”

Then, in 2021, private-equity firm Roark Capital acquired Nothing Bundt Cakes. Terms were not disclosed.

At the time, according to the buyer, the bakery chain had 390 locations that generated around $470 million in sales.

‘I want to do it’

Nothing Bundt Cakes has grown even more since its sale five years ago. As seen on its website, it has more than 800 bakeries and 600-plus units in development.

In March, The Wall Street Journal reported that Roark had reached a deal to sell Nothing Bundt Cakes to private-equity giant KKR for more than $2 billion, including debt.

Tripp still owns two Nothing Bundt Cake stores in Las Vegas: on Sahara Avenue near Cimarron Road and on Centennial Center Boulevard at Ann Road.

A selection of cakes is shown at Nothing Bundt Cakes at 8320 W. Sahara Ave. in Las Vegas on Friday, Oct. 23, 2015. (Bill Hughes/Las Vegas Review-Journal)

She also said that, when she sees the sprawling chain today, she feels sad.

Tripp contends the brand is getting diluted, but, she said, she also knows that when you sell a company, you have to sit back and accept your decision.

Still, as she and her partners prepare to open a fleet of new milkshake spots around the valley, Tripp said that she loves the process of creating something new.

“At this point in my life, I don’t have to do any of that, but I want to do it,” she said.

Contact Eli Segall at esegall@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342.