Business

Editor's note: This is a series on all of the change going on in South Lake Tahoe. We'll be updating you with photos and news.

To make room for the new Bev Mo in South Lake Tahoe, SUP Tahoe and South Shore Bikes needed to find a new home. A long abandoned restaurant on Hwy89 was torn down, a new building put up and now the two local businesses have a new home.

Cold Water Brewery and Grill at 2544 Lake Tahoe Blvd. is having their pre-opening job fair; apply Thursday, September 4th 6-8 p.m. and Saturday, September 6th 9-11 a.m. The timing of Cold Water Brewery & Grill’s opening is just perfect. As the South Shore is getting ready to hunker down for the slow season and laying people off, Cold Water Brewery is getting ready to fire up and bring great food, great people and great beer to Midtown.

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You have most likely noticed all of the action on the corner of Highway 50 and Sierra Blvd over the last few months, with the former Swiss Chalet restaurant undergoing a massive overhaul.

Long time local Debbie Brown has been working endless hours to put in her new business, the Cold Water Brewery. She is bringing to the new venture her talent from years in the South Lake Tahoe food and beverage industry and passion from realizing a long time dream.

Tahoe Tactical Team, the popular business coaching program, is returning due to a federal grant received by the City of South Lake Tahoe. They have joined a partnership with the Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce to bring back the program which helps new business owners start up an enterprise or existing business owners take their businesses to the next level.

After the frantic pace of home sales in South Lake Tahoe over the past two years, things are starting to slow down to a more level pace. Home sales in South Lake Tahoe, California dropped 13% in the month of July, mainly due to the fact that there is a lower inventory of homes priced under $300,000. Homes priced between $435,000 and $650,000 actually saw a rise in closed sales, up 20.5%. There was a huge surge in home sales from 670 a year in 2012, to a peak of 790 for the year ending in May of 2013, back to 678 for the past 12 months.

If you were wondering where Wildman's Cafe went to after leaving their Ski Run Marina location, you're in luck....we found them in their new home!

Rami and Patricia Suda Merrikh have opened Wildman's 50's Drive-In at the Y in South Lake Tahoe. While not the coffee house as before, they prepare a wide variety of food on their menu.

We stopped in to see what was up in the mid-century circa establishment. Rami was at the grill and Patricia was taking care of the front counter.

South Lake Tahoe's Horizon Resort Casino is going to be a Hard Rock Casino & Hotel by the end of 2014 or beginning of 2015.

This comes amid local speculation and rumors that have been circling the community since the Horizon's closure this spring.

The new casino has a facebook page and website already.

Hard Rock Lake Tahoe is undergoing $60M in renovations and redesign that will highlight rock and roll and will also serve as a live music venue.

The South Lake Tahoe Police Department would like to invite business owners (with an ABC license) and their employees to attend a free seminar presented by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control on Friday, July 18th.

The LEAD (Licensee Education on Alcohol and Drugs) seminar will give you:

□ Information on what is acceptable I.D.; the best way to check I.D.; how to refuse service; signs and prevention of illicit drug activity, and more

□ The facts about your criminal, civil, and ABC liability

□ An update on California alcohol laws

□ Helpful handouts

The Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce will have a ribbon cutting at the new South Lake Tahoe business, Welcome Home Shoppe Gifts & Decor on June 4 at 4 p.m.

The shop features unique gifts and home decor.

The ribbon cutting ceremony will feature wine and appetizers. Welcome Home will pay the sales tax on any items purchased at the time.

The new boutique is located in the log cabin at 2777 Lake Tahoe Blvd (in front of Tahoe Keys Cafe and adjacent to the car wash).

In February 2014, Primo’s Italian Bistro celebrated two years in its South Lake Tahoe location. As a way of saying thank you, Primo’s “Customer Appreciation Month” will feature two-topping pizzas for only $10 throughout the month of May.

Primo’s pizzas are hand tossed, East Coast Style, and cooked to
perfection in the brick oven. Primo’s is open seven days a week until
10 p.m., for lunch Monday through Friday starting 11 a.m., and for dinner
Saturday and Sunday starting at 4 p.m. Primo’s is located at 2180 Lake
Tahoe Boulevard, behind Orchid Thai.

TRYP will be in the haus on April 9th, with our our monthly networking mixer at Himmel Haus from 6:30-9:30pm. Catch up with friends and meet new ones while sipping authentic German beer and sampling Himmel Haus' contemporary cuisine.

TRYP mixers take place the second Wednesday of each month and are FREE for members (just $10 for non-members). Bring your friends and co-workers; we'll see you there!

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Learning about how to run a business in South Lake Tahoe isn't always the easiest task, but the City took one step closer to stream lining the process at a community meeting Wednesday night.

City Attorney Tom Watson led a discussion group in the City Council chambers, trying to find out what issues businesses have with the City and the City Code.

A record-breaking 100 businesses will participate in the 2014 Business EXPO –“Tahoe South in ACTION” this Friday, March 28. The event begins at 4:30pm and continues until 8:30pm in Harrah’s Lake Tahoe Convention Center. It will highlight South Shore businesses’ goods and services to an anticipated crowd of 1,200 attendees.

The following vendors will exhibit:

A Hand at Home
Acker RV Rentals
Alpine Smith Snow Removal and Driveway Sealing
American Legion Post 795
Bank of the West
Barton Memorial Hospital
Beach Hut Deli
Beach Retreat and Lodge Tahoe

Build a five-star reputation online with help from TahoeChamber and Peak 1 Group at the next Tech Tuesday on April 1 at 8 a.m. This workshop focuses on the importance of reputation marketing, which is crucial for our tourism and hospitality-based community. Participants will learn how to proactively manage their online reputations while increasing their websites’ visibility, traffic and engagement. Swartz, a marketing professional, will teach participants how to respond to reviews and how to use customer feedback – both good and bad – to improve SEO efforts.

Latin Soul Restaurant is expanding the menu to include Brazilian BBQ on selected nights beginning late March, 2014. Endless portions of slow-roasted meats will be carved table-side by gauchos. This meat lover's feast will include beef, pork, chicken, lamb and sausage, appetizers and savory side dishes. Brazilian BBQ is a fun and interactive dining experience.

TahoeChamber is partnering with Constant Contact to offer a special three-part series as part of the ongoing Tech Tuesday program. This three-part series begins with “Grow Your Business Email Marketing” on March 18 at 5pm at the TahoeChamber Conference Room. Constant Contact representatives will demonstrate how small businesses can utilize email marketing to engage and grow their customer base. Attendees will discover new marketing strategies and discover the elements necessary for a successful email marketing campaign.

TahoeChamber was recognized at the Western Association of Chamber Executives Conference in Los Angeles recently. The award was for their publication Tahoe Future Vision 2020 and for the bi-weekly e-newsletter.
The conference included chamber professionals from 18 western states and Canada.

A new delivery service in town debuted their company at a ribbon cutting ceremony on February 11 at the TahoeChamber conference room. Tahoe Restaurant Delivery & More invited guests to try their vendor's various menu items during a buffet style luncheon which included sushi, sandwiches, cookies and noodle dishes and more.

Jamie Baines is known for her great work ethic and strives for excellence when working in the real estate industry, and now her hard work has paid off. Jamie recently earned her Previews Certification in the company, opening her up to a brand new customer base and extending her knowledge to a new audience. Jamie built her career selling Lake Tahoe lakefronts and luxury lake view properties and is excited to have this designation to accompany her already impressive line of work.

Youth Sports and Recreation celebrated a ribbon cutting on January 31
with Tahoe Chamber on hand to officiate. Owner Tim Wesley invited guests
to tour his facility and learn more about the business, which operates to promote physical activity and provide nutritional education to children ages 5 to 17.

Youth Sports and Recreation also provides a tutoring center for after school care. Instructors demonstrated martial arts while children tried
the various machines available, including stationary bikes that allowed riders to play video games as they cycled.

Pamela’s Pilates will celebrate their recent expansion with a grand reopening and ribbon cutting on Saturday, January 25 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The ribbon cutting will take place at 4:30 p.m.

Guests will have the opportunity to test the studio's newest Pilates equipment while enjoying music from Incline Village’s Paul David and the Drivers, and food provided by the Simple Bliss Vegan Cafe.

There will be exclusive packages available to those in attendance as well as instruction on Stott Pilates, meet the studio's instructors Pamela and
Jordyn.

Stateline casinos took in $17,381,413 in November, down 1.99% from the same month a year ago.

The State Gaming Control Board reported today that the gross gaming win for November, 2013 was $875,968,501. The statewide gaming win, computed before business expenses and taxes, is up 11.91% from November of 2012.

Casinos along the Las Vegas Strip and in Washoe County were among the top winners while casinos in North Lake Tahoe, North Las Vegas and Laughlin experienced the biggest drop in gaming win. Casinos on the Strip account for more than half of the gaming win statewide.

It's the beginning of a new year and it's time to get organized with your career. Join the Tahoe Regional Young Professionals for this month's professional development workshop, "New Year, New Resume." TRYP's own Megan Arneson, a business coach and strategist, will be presenting a new approach on what to put on your resume, and how to structure it. Learn essentials for customizing your resume and cover letter to fit any job description and to optimize them for online search.

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If you own a bar or pub in the Lake Tahoe area that is in need of a makeover, then a new Cooking Channel series is looking for you! The network has created a new makeover series that will feature chef and hospitality consultant Eddie Russell as he changes the way America experiences pub food.

He is on a pilgrimage to enlighten cooks, barkeeps and grillers of the nation's watering holes that they can provide food that is both delicious and sophisticated. He will teach staff they can have fun while being professional and that a watering hole doesn't have to smell!