Keeping you informed of Northern Nevada and Tahoe/Truckee’s local food-and-drink news.
We’re ushering in 2025 with a long list of happenings in Northern Nevada and beyond. Read on for everything you need to know about the local scene so we can start this year off right — with our bellies full and our heads filled with all the wonderful new places for us to eat and imbibe.
OPENINGS & EXPANSIONS
This may be some of the best food news we’ve heard so far: The original Awful Awful is back! Burger fiends can now get their fix inside Baldini’s Sports Casino in Reno. While the inventor of the iconic Reno staple has passed, his grandchildren decided to bring the burger back to the local food scene.
Pele Utu, a new Reno tiki bar, opened its doors on Stardust Street on Sept. 27. The island-themed bar plays yacht rock on Sundays and offers tiki drink specials. The concept comes from Reno personality Dr. Shocker and his wife, Rosie Raddish.
Tahoe Bagel Company owners Justin and Jeff Kaplan have secured a lease in Reno to expand their business. The brothers currently own two restaurants in South Lake Tahoe.
Pho 999 is back and bigger than ever! The beloved pho restaurant moved into the former location of Rusty Taco in Reno, gaining quite a bit more real estate. The menu also boasts some new items.
The old Rapscallion building is getting a new tenant, Cibo e Vino Restaurant and Wine Bar. We’re still awaiting a proposed opening date.
Lovers of The Cup Café will be thrilled to hear the eatery has a new location. The breakfast staple, located near Target on South Virginia Street, opened its second spot in Reno Town Mall.
Darkshot Coffee also now has a second location. The soft opening of its new Valley Road store was announced on social media on Nov. 2.
Crave Cookies, a cookie and loaded soda franchise, opened next door to Sugar Blvd. in The Sticks in Midtown Reno. In addition to selling oversized cookies similar to the Crumbl business model, the shop also has an unbelievably long list of dirty sodas (spiked with cream, flavored syrups, and juices) with options to add boba.
Twin Peaks, a sports bar chain not unlike a Hooters restaurant, opened in the Redfield Promenade in Reno on Oct. 21.
Curse of Cane, a new cocktail bar on Center Street in Reno, opened in November. The sister restaurant to Death & Taxes and Amari offers cool drinks in a bright and almost Wonderland-style space. In a somewhat unorthodox fashion, the restaurant began announcing popups ahead of its grand opening with announcements on Instagram, which also tease new cocktail menus.
On Oct. 1, Dairy Queen opened in a brand new building in the Raley’s shopping center in South Reno. The store is owned by Rajiv Paul, who also owns seven Arizona locations of the fast food giant, along with local Vish Krishnan.
A pair of new Korean fast-casual restaurants opened recently. On Nov. 2, CrunCheese, a Korean hot dog concept, opened inside of Walmart in Carson City, and on Nov. 8, a new Korean fried chicken place called Basak Chicken opened in Sparks on Prater Way.
Graze Craze opened in Sparks on Nov. 5. The charcuterie catering concept features boards, boxes, and platters made to order. There once was a location in Reno (that has since closed), making the Sparks location the only one in the area. It comes from franchise owners in Las Vegas who own three stores in the southern part of the state.
It’s been a tumultuous year for Rising for People Coffee Co. The creative concept known for offering rotating coffee flights was operating inside of Haven on Earth in South Reno when a car crashed through the front of the establishment. During repairs, it continued to serve coffee as best the staff could. However, Rising for People now is ready to move into a new home. The company announced on Instagram on Oct. 10 that it would be relocating to Midtown in 2025.
A new Vietnamese restaurant also appears to be moving to Midtown. Combining the former location of Rice Box Kitchen and Boba T, the new owner has filed a permit to make improvements. The current name associated with the project is 4 Season Vietnamese Fusion.
Gelato on a stick? Dipdee has been serving the Reno community since 2022 out of a creative ice cream food truck. Now it’s expanding with a brick-and-mortar shop on Keystone Avenue. Stay tuned for official opening details!
CLOSURES & BUSINESS CHANGES
We say goodbye to a few businesses to start off 2025, but the good news is many of them aren’t gone for good.
MaryBeth and Colin Smith, the couple behind Roundabout Catering and other food businesses, acquired The Virgil, an event space in Reno. The Smiths plan to use the 100-year-old building to host events including weddings, corporate gatherings, and more. They have plans to conduct kitchen improvements and turn The Virgil into a one-stop shop for event planning and related services.
Vistro made headlines last year when it relocated its takeout operation from the basement of Greater Nevada Field to its own bright orange building near the Reno Arch. However, it seems the virtual kitchen model was the best fit for the business. The owners have downsized and returned to their original model, serving a variety of menus as delivery and takeout only. Orders are only taken online. So what will take over the previous spot, now that there’s a bright orange hole in the restaurant landscape of downtown? Rumor has it that Kings Sushi will be the new kid on the block.
The Phoenix at The Outlets at Legends announced their closure on Facebook on Sept. 18, citing the lease as its reason for immediately ceasing operations.
Lewis Pierrott is at it again. Known for buying up Reno restaurant businesses, the current owner of Josef’s Vienna Bakery & Café purchased the building that houses Arlington Gardens Mall and Rattlesnake Club in early October. He opened a second Josef’s in the space.
Matt Polley also is selling off businesses. The previous owner of The Jungle, he sold The Office of Hughes & Porter, announcing his departure as a small businessman in Reno in October after more than 23 years. For now, The Office still is open, but his previous business, The Jungle, which included both a coffee and wine bar at times, previously closed.
Fireside Market on East Fourth Street also has a new owner, Tejash Patel.
NOTEWORTHY NEWS
From milestone anniversaries to impressive awards, we have much to celebrate!
Atlantis Steakhouse was recognized as one of the top casino restaurants in the United States by USA Today as part of the 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards. Coming in at No. 4, the restaurant scored higher than any other Nevada-based nominees.
Another Atlantis restaurant, Bistro Napa, received a AAA Four Diamond designation on Sept. 30. This marks the restaurant as part of the top tier of the hospitality industry in North America. It is not, however, Atlantis’ first similar recognition. With the Atlantis Steakhouse holding the title since 2013 and the resort as a whole having its own AAA Four Diamond rating since 2012, the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa is now the only property in Northern Nevada to boast multiple AAA Four Diamond restaurants in addition to being a AAA Four Diamond hotel.
Grand Sierra Resort was recognized with 22 awards from Best of Sierra Nevada. They included awards those for casino concert venue, hotel pool, and restaurants such as Chickie’s & Pete’s and Charlie Palmer Steak. A full list of awards includes nine golds, five silvers, and eight bronzes in categories across entertainment, dining, and hospitality.
Also in GSR news, Adam Ornellas takes over as executive chef at Charlie Palmer Steak inside of the Grand Sierra Resort. He has more than 25 years of experience in the industry.
All of the businesses under Reno Local Food Group will be part of an initiative to promote clean, healthy eating, creating a closed-loop food system by feeding cows repurposed spent grain produced by brewing operations. As part of the commitment, restaurants within the Mark Estee-owned group will exclusively serve grass-fed and brewery grain finished beef from Park Ranch Meats. This includes four locations of Great Basin Brewing Co. in Reno, Sparks, and Carson City, as well as Liberty Food & Wine Exchange in Reno, Overland Restaurant & Pub in Gardnerville, and Cucina Lupo in Carson City.
On Oct. 27, Royce celebrated 10 years in business.
In other anniversary news, Urban Roots celebrated 15 years on Nov. 2.
Shoe Tree Brewing Co. in Carson City always seems to be winning something. Participating in global beer competitions, the local brewery brought home a couple of silver medals. The first was awarded to the Wicked Shifty, a tart American sour, at the 2024 Great American Beer Festival. That follows an award received earlier this year from the World Beer Cup for the brand’s Lahontan Brown Ale.
Schüssboom Brewing Co. in South Reno also took home an award from the 2024 Great American Beer Festival. It was announced on Oct. 12 that the brand’s Bear Bait Raspberry Honey Wheat Ale won bronze.
On the same day, owner Matt Johnson announced that IMBĪB Custom Brews had taken home gold in the bock category for its Pan is Alive Maibock.
Jeannie Damonte, a Nevada farmer and owner of Sterling Farms Nevada, represented the U.S. at a panel hosted by Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome on Sept. 30. She was the only representative from the U.S. on the panel of women-only farmers.
Yelp Elites announces a fresh list of “top places to eat” in Reno-Tahoe in October. The list includes R Town Pizza, The Steak House at Western Village, La Condesa Eatery, Arario, Kuma Sushi, Belleville Wine Bar, Mexcal, Cosmos Snack Bar, Two Chicks, and Atlantis’ Bistro Napa.
TAHOE-TRUCKEE NEWS
Harvey’s Lake Tahoe announced a $160 million renovation plan that will include a completely redone casino floor and updated guest rooms.
If you’ve been waiting for the grand opening of Tahoe’s Waldorf Astoria, we have some bad news. After the developer, EKN Tahoe LLC, failed to pay the $82 million principal balance, the deal fell through. That puts the future of the Tahoe Biltmore Lodge & Casino building up in the air, perhaps getting sold to the highest bidder at auction.
Bruschetta joined the Stateline dining scene over the summer. The Italian concept had been in the works for over a year, while owner Erik Rhoades worked hard on the remodel. The Bay Area-transplant has lived at Lake Tahoe since the Covid-19 pandemic, and Bruschetta is his first Nevada restaurant after selling his California eatery four years ago.
Saltgrass Steak House opened inside of the Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino Lake Tahoe in Stateline on Sept. 20. The Texas-style steakhouse chain includes a No Bull Lounge as well as an expanded patio with firepits and additional seating.
Café Fiore Ristorante Italiano announced plans to close its South Lake Tahoe restaurant in 2025. The decision was made after the owners lost their building lease. The jury is out on whether the long-time SLT staple will reopen in another spot.
It was announced in October that Caliente, owned by Tom Turner, closed after 17 years in business. The Kings Beach restaurant was part of the Tahoe Restaurant Collection and had the same owner as Gar Woods in Carnelian Bay, Riva Grill in the Ski Run Marina, Bar of America in Downtown Truckee, and Sparks Water Bar in Sparks.
Debbie Brown has sold South Lake Tahoe’s Cold Water Brewery to couple Melanie and Kevin Hubbert.
We’re still (maybe not so) patiently awaiting Sylva, a new American bistro coming to Tahoe City from the chef formerly behind Christy Hill.
And the current site of the historic Tahoe City Inn is morphing into an evo, the global outdoor experiences company, complete with hotel, restaurant, and more near Commons Beach. Protect Our Winters founder Jeremy Jones is part of the project.
Hats off to a busy start of the year! We’ll be back with more updates soon. Until next time, remember to eat, drink, and think local!
