You stop by a local retailer to purchase gear and stay for a bite and brew. You go to a local bookstore for the latest release, order a coffee and reserve a conference space for your virtual meeting. You head to the local brewery for a pint and peruse locally made art while hanging out with friends.
This is the place to go to drink a beer, have some food, play oversized Connect Four or attend a battery of family-friendly events.
These are all examples of how retailers from outfitters to breweries have reimagined what it means to serve customers. This growing trend for what’s become known as experiential retail – providing customers an experience while they are shopping and dining – isn’t new in large cities but it is a newer and growing trend in Tahoe. Here are a few Tahoe spots worth checking out.
Cuppa Tahoe, South Lake Tahoe (food/drinks/retail/coworking)
Comfy chairs within hidden nooks are strategically placed throughout this bookstore/café/coworking space whether you can stay for 10 minutes or three hours. People are on laptops, reading, chatting or enjoying a bite to eat.
Owner Sandra Santané opened Cuppa Tahoe in May 2020 because she wanted a place that provided human connection and catered to everyone — something modern, sleek and whimsical. What Cuppa Tahoe offers is a glass-encased coworking space complete with soundproof phone booths, as well as a conference room. There’s a fully stocked bookstore with games and stationery and an eatery with a rotating seasonal menu of local drinks and bites. It’s the ideal cozy spot in which to hunker down for a bit. | cuppatahoe.com
evo, Tahoe City (food/drinks/retail/recreation/lodging)
The online outdoor retailer evo has evolved to build physical spaces that promote adventure, community and creativity. Its eyes are set on opening a campus in Tahoe City, and they purchased the Tahoe City Inn and America’s Best Value hotel earlier this year. Their vision includes a store, café, service shop, art gallery, outdoor recreation options, lodging and workforce housing.
The company plans to begin operations in its new multi-use venture in 2023 in the Tahoe City Inn. In the meantime, evo is hosting the pop-up Scotty Lapp Memorial Skatepark in the parking lot behind the Inn, which is open Friday to Sunday until it snows. | evo.com
Lakeview Social, South Lake Tahoe (food/drinks/entertainment)
Across from El Dorado Beach is Lakeview Social. Its motto is eat, drink, relax. One can get a coffee or fine wine at the longstanding Revive, a craft beer or cocktail at the Barrel Room next door or order a burger at the food truck to enjoy at one of the many picnic tables or firepits out front. Live music is on tap every day starting at 4 p.m. | lakeviewsocialtahoe.com
Pine Nut Cycle Café, South Lake Tahoe (food/drinks/recreation)
In the warmer months, the new Pine Nut Cycle Café offers healthy drinks, snacks and bike rentals so patrons can explore the shores of South Lake Tahoe.
“We travel quite a bit and noticed cycle cafes popping up in places like Bali and Australia, places that serve coffee and rent bikes. We wanted to bring that design to South Lake Tahoe, create a place where people could buy gear, bikes or a cold-pressed juice, coffee, kombucha or chia pudding to take on their ride to the beach via the 3.5-mile forest path that’s right here next to the shop,” co-owner Jessica Howitt says, gesturing to the road.
Pine Nut Cycle Café is open until Thanksgiving and then will reopen in April depending on the weather. | pinenutcyclecafe.com
RMU, Truckee (food/drinks/retail)
RMU (Rocky Mountain Underground) began with a group of friends making skis out of their garage. Then in 2011, their company grew and they opened shops in Breckenridge and Whistler. RMU launched a third location in fall of 2021 providing a bar, restaurant and ski shop — “skis, bikes and mountain culture.” The duck-fat fries, burgers and Happy-Hour drink specials draw in the après-ski and after-dark crowds. | mtnculture.com
Tahoe Backyard, Kings Beach (food/drinks/retail/entertainment)
At the beginning of the pandemic, North Lake Tahoe residents Andrew and Christine Ryan bought an empty lot in the heart of The Grid neighborhood of Kings Beach. By the summer of 2021, it became a thriving neighborhood hangout spot called Tahoe Backyard.
Bear Belly Brewing Company was the first to move in, followed by Chickadee Art Collective and Yard Hen food truck. This is the place to go to drink a beer, have some food, play oversized Connect Four or attend a battery of family-friendly events ranging from regular makers’ markets and kids’ art activities to cornhole tournaments and poetry readings. | tahoebackyard.com
