edible energy
TRAIL TREAT
Natural ingredients are highlight of Tahoe Trail Bar.
WRITTEN BY MELISSA SIIG
PHOTOS BY SHEA EVANS
In 2001, two employees of Hot Gossip Espresso Bar in South Lake Tahoe began baking and selling an energy bar in small batches. Tahoe Trail Bar became so popular that the owners had to move to a Carson City manufacturing facility. South Lake resident Wes King was one of those consumers fanning Tahoe Trail Bar’s growth, using it as a tool to keep him going on his outdoor adventures. He was such a fan that in 2010 he decided to buy the business.
“I wanted to do something that contributed to the reason I live in Tahoe,” says King, who got his start in corporate sales with Borders bookstores. “Most people who live in Tahoe want to enjoy the outdoors, and use every minute of every day outside. That’s what Tahoe Trail Bar enabled me to do before I bought it — it gave me a lot of fuel to enjoy the outdoors.”
Tahoe Trail Bar’s fuel comes from its natural ingredients: peanut butter, chocolate chips, coconut, dried cranberries, raisins, nuts, sesame seeds, and flax seeds. At 3.5 ounces, it’s also bigger than most other energy bars (a Clif Bar is 2.4 ounces).
“It’s dense, and almost has a homemade taste,” King says. “You can taste the different things as they hit the palate. Other energy bars taste like a big gob of goo.”
While Tahoe Trail Bar currently only comes in one flavor, King would like to expand the company’s offerings to include mint, coffee, dark chocolate, and white chocolate.
Since King bought the company, business has grown 40 percent and Tahoe Trail Bar now is sold throughout the country. In Reno, you can find it at Bobo’s Ski + Board. And Tahoe’s only energy bar can be found all around the basin, from Grass Roots Natural Foods and Sprouts Natural Foods Café in South Lake to Coffee Connexion and Syd’s Café in Tahoe City. You also can order it at www.Tahoetrailbar.com.
Melissa Siig is a freelance writer based in Tahoe City, Calif. The Tahoe Trail Bar is her favorite thing to grab and eat before hitting the trails or the gym.
