Openings
A new music venue and craft-cocktail lounge, Tessie’s Cocktails & Chords—named for Tahoe Tessie, the serpentine creature that lives in Lake Tahoe, according to legend—opened in July at the newly remodeled Caesars Republic Lake Tahoe, formerly Harveys Lake Tahoe, at 18 U.S. Highway 50, in Stateline.
The lounge features live music nightly, occasional karaoke nights and a monthly yacht-rock series, called Sailing Club. The menu features champagne, wine, draft and bottled beer, and creative signature libations such as the Altitude Adjustment, with Belvedere vodka, Chareau aloe liqueur, kiwi, lychee, lime and coconut water. Tessie’s boasts an extensive spirits selection, offers bottle service, and accepts—but does not require—reservations.
Visit www.tessiestahoe.com.
A new sandwich shop, Alioto’s Focacceria, opened in July, featuring creative sandwiches, such as The Wife, with sliced ham, burrata, truffle aioli and pistachios, on focaccia from Beloved’s Bakery.
Alioto’s—owned by chef Alexander Alioto, who also owns The Kitchen Table—is in the space formerly occupied by Jüs in the Sticks plaza, at 740 S. Virginia St. There’s also a branch in San Rafael, Calif.
To learn more, go to www.aliotosfocacceria.com.
Coming soon
Wanderlust Food Truck Festival—which produces food truck events in Southern California cities Murrieta, Lake Elsinore and Palm Springs—will debut its weekly Reno event at the J Resort’s Glow Plaza, at 670 W. Fourth St., on Thursday, Aug. 20, from 5 to 10 p.m. The event is slated to continue each Thursday.
So far, 14 local food and beverage vendors are confirmed, including A Touch of Soul, Chilaquiles and Friends, Doggy Style Korean Corndogs, Sip on the Go and Sipology Sodas—although Alexander Yepremian, Wanderlust’s co-founder and director, said that by the event date, the list may grow or change a bit.
Learn more at www.wanderlustevents.net.
Jim Yoell, a retired dental-equipment salesman who previously lived in San Jose, announced a while back that he and his wife, Eva Chen, had signed a lease on a new Paris Baguette franchise in south Reno. This month, the couple’s plans have made a visible leap toward fruition.
Yoell said that, as of Aug. 11, the cabinetry, display cases, bench seats, tables and countertops are all in the process of being installed, and that the kitchen equipment was slated to arrive within days. The tile floor installation was well under way.
“You convert two suites into one 6,200-square-foot space—there’s a lot of moving parts,” Yoell said.
The two suites were formerly Sneakers Bar and Grill and West Coast Martial Arts. He’s hoping for an October opening 3923 and 3929 S. McCarran Blvd.
Four months after Old Granite Street Eatery closed at 243 S. Sierra St., Taqueria Los Primos announced on Facebook that it will open soon in that location.
According to the post, the restaurant will be open 24 hours a day. A grand-opening date had not yet been announced as of this writing. For more information, go to taqueria-losprimos.com.
Smith’s Food and Drug has announced plans to build a new, 123,000-square-foot grocery store at 6795 Pyramid Way in Sparks, with a target opening date of fall 2027. According to a press release, the offerings will include sushi, made-to-order salads and sandwiches, a floral department, a drive-through pharmacy, online grocery pickup and a Smith’s Fuel Center.
Closing
The original Peg’s Glorified Ham n Eggs location, at 420 S. Sierra St., in downtown Reno, closed rather suddenly in late July.
Fred and Joanna Lee (“Pops” and “Peg”), who owned multiple restaurants in Oregon, came out of retirement to open the restaurant in June 1999. It soon became a beloved community institution, and won multiple Best of Northern Nevada awards over the years. The Lees’ kids and grandkids would go on to expand Peg’s into multiple locations in both Northern and Southern Nevada; the Peg’s website currently lists eight locations (other than the Sierra Street spot, which is still listed as of this writing).
RN&R publisher Jimmy Boegle dined at the Sierra Street location on Saturday, July 25—meaning he was unknowingly one of the final customers. While the food and service were great as usual, the space looked surprisingly run down, with large rips in some booths’ upholstery, and a handle missing from the main interior door—signs, in retrospect, that the end was near for that location.
For more on the remaining locations, visit eatatpegs.com.