Changes coming to South Tahoe’s Y
The boxy building at the Y had several tenants through the years. Photos/Bill Kingman
On Aug. 19 the structure was bulldozed.
Another old South Lake Tahoe building no longer exists.
What many people remember as the former AAA building at the Y was demolished on Aug. 19. More recently it had been home to a Laundromat, standup paddleboard store and bike shop.
In its place will be a Bev Mo store.
The bike and SUP shops are moving down Emerald Bay Road into a building that is nearing completion. This is where a Chinese restaurant once sat.
— Lake Tahoe News staff report
Glad to see a new building going up where the old AAA office was.
Okay, a question for all you “Tahoe old timers”.
That Chinese resturant that was torn down on 89 to be re-built as a new stand up paddle place and bike shop,
What was in that building in the past? Any names?
Not that hard, just think about that old resturaunt on 89 and throw out a few names from years gone by.
It’s down the street from Columbos old place and across the street from the7-11.
Any resturuant names? OLS
Grumpy’s!
OLS, wasn’t 89th St Bar and Grill in that location when they moved from TJ’s Peanut Farm on 50 (Steamers now)? And wasn’t that the location of Seddy’s (owner of the Sugar House Ski Shop) restaurant before being rebuilt for 89th St B+G? Or was that building a little farther along 89? I do know that the animal hospital on 89 was the old Sawbuck Sallon, and then Austin Angel had a BBQ restauraunt there before being rebuilt for the animal hospital.
Wow.
Grumpy’s and 89th St. Haven’t heard those names in years.
:-)
Johnny’s Basque Restaurant, the posh Vali-Hi (with full bar), China Wok, Emerald Palace… maybe not that sequence…enjoyed Dave Fabrizio’s music there. Was it briefly a Godfather’s Pizza in early 1980s?
lots of eyesores getting taken care of. The carwash that was never finished will now be finished, The Crane shop now becoming a autozone, the tahole opwning soon with only 3 shoppes that dont have leases yet. Good things all.
I’m so glad to see that building go, but very sad to see the cleanest laundromat in town go. Tom and Donna are fantastic, I didn’t have to use it often but always found it clean and operating when I did need it. Not sure if a BevMo is what I would’ve chosen for that location but just my opinion.
Hey OLS: Have you ever met Tony Clifton?
When I arrived in 72 it was the Crocker Bank office before AAA. I have been told that the cabins that were there first were moved farther north to make room for the building.
Toogee, Yeah, I think 89th street bar and grill(Victor and Lluu’s place) was a little farther down the road. Had some good times at the BBQ place when Angel was cookin’.
Bill Kingman , the Vali-Hi now there’s a name I had’nt heard in a long time.
Cosa Pescado, never met Tony Clifton but I did just google him to listen to his remarkable vocal stylings.
Grumpy’s I don’t remember but with a name like that I’m sure it was a good place!
South Shore is getting better, even if it’s just one building at a time! OLS
David Kurtzman, I’d forgotten about Crocker Bank being in that building. Thank you.
Miche, I agree, something other than building another liquor store in SLT, maybe there should be something else. Could there not be a better choice for that location? Maybe a Trader Joes or Whole foods?
Although, it’s my understanding, that Raleys has an agreement with the property owner of that prime piece of real estate, that no grocery store can move onto that property. True or just another Tahoe rumor? OLS
Likely a rumor, OLS. I know TJ’s won’t move up here; we don’t have the numbers for them. They’ve got some formula that an area has to meet before they’ll consider it. And I doubt Whole Foods would go in when there’s Grass Roots almost right next door.
Much as I’d LOVE a TJ’s in town, we don’t get to pick what property owners build on their land. That’s up to them.
I seem to remember Jeannie’s Villa Basque right after Johnny’s. Or am I imagining?
Miche, I’m with you. Big box stores don’t provide the ambience I like to associate with Tahoe. Maybe I’m becoming an old fogey, but it seems to me if you want to attract tourism, building chain stores identical to the ones in people’s home towns is not the way to do it.
Hundreds of campsites down the road and thousands of people at the beaches. What could be better than buying beer and ice on the way? I love the option of not having to cross hwy 89 or 50.
In the old days I would travel the 50.c taco circuit. Brothers on Mondays, Sawbuck on Tuesdays,Freel Peak on Wednesdays, 75.c tacos at Grumpy’s on Thursdays. I thought it was called Granny’s, they had shredded beef and chicken tacos. Then we had to wait until Sunday when the airport had 75.c tacos on flour tortillas with guacamole and sour cream. All of the establishments served $2.00 pitchers of Bud.
Taco nights were fun! For about 5 bucks, you could eat a bunch of tacos and get a pitcher of beer!
Old fogey alert! Does anyone remember Poor Pierres? Basque dining at it’s finest! Big tables where you sat with strangers at a big table, who became your friends right away, served with big platters of food and a wooden floor covered in sawdust and wood chips. Good food as I recall and lots of it!
Aw, those were the days my friends. OLS
OLS: I certainly remember Poor Pierre’s…corner Sierra Blvd. and Hy 50. Great ‘ol lady was the waitress, the steaks were especially good; and the bar area was busy, the live music was usually good Rock ‘n roll or something listenable, sometimes danceable. Once a year was the Free Buck Stew Day. I am not sure of the truth of this, but I was told, long ago, that the owner (can’t remember his name at the moment) was hassled by El Dorado County Health Department over the Venison ….and he was not selling the stew, it was free. side story: I heard that EDCHD even hassled the local icecream truck folks, demanding a commercial kitchen….and they did nothing but sell already made and packaged icecream!
Anyway, back to Poor Pierre’s….
Heard he closed and left, was disgusted. Lots of restaurants have occupied the building over the years.
another wee story… I have a close friend and hiking buddy, who shall be not named here…. who was the ‘photographer’ for the Tribune at that time; he eventually became Managing Editor, years later. On the fateful day, with me tagging along, he had just one assignment, to take photos of the Yacht Club luncheon, which was out back of the restaurant (it is a NICE place, nicer now , the rear area especially nice……was just there…Scusa. So, here I was, along in ‘assistant status’. UNfortunately (??), I found that my bud had not put any film in the cameras!! We gorged on the free food though! I think a bit of a lie was later told to the Yacht club …about the film processing going bad….which is why the Trib never ran the story. The Editor at that time, and the Publisher, both knew the truth.
Love the old memories….just what us old coots/codgers/geezers do, EH?…reminisce..?
I remember all the same places that Bill Kingman listed. Ate dinner at the basque restaurant a lot with my parents. We lived in bijou and it seemed like such a long drive. Poor Pierre’s was a fun place, good food. At some point after they closed it was a real good Mexican restaurant. Change is inevitable and good…..
Was that building an egg/omelet place before it was 89th Street Bar, in the 70’s? Eggcetera, something like that?
Even though I have shopped at “whole foods” when on vacation, I hope they do not open in south lake tahoe. Grass Roots has been a wonderful part of our community for a long time, and a whole foods market would probably put them out of business. Just some food for thought!
OLS’s and Bob Fleischer’s entries above remind me: before today’s Scusa’s was Poor Pierre’s in the 1960s, it was The Wampus Cat… so-named because it sits catty-wampus to Highway 50 and Sierra Blvd!
The Omelet place on Hwy 89 was called the Cook Book they had any Omelet you could think of. Jeannie’s Villa Basque was also on Hwy 89 not sure if it was before or after Johnny”s. Poor Pierre’s was also a fun place I remember the beef dip sandwiches that were very good as well as the fact they had sawdust on the floors. This also brings back memories of Tj’s and the peanut shells on the floors. This is a good thing to stretch my old memory from years past
I really enjoyed your folks comments about some of the old restaurants here in South Shore. The crunch of peanut shells under your feet at TJ’S, the good food and jovial atmosphere at Poor Pierre’s which later became Poor Pedro’s. The Family that ran the mexican resturuant lived up on the second floor.For a great banana milk shake there was Burgers a Go Go, Tony Columbo’s place on 89.
I sure miss the Swiss Chalet, but the lady opening the brew pub in that classc Tahoe building knows what she’s doin’, and I’m sure it will be a new hot spot in town.
On another note , yeah rebel with a cause, I like Grass Roots . The move next door turned out great! I wish the old place, which was at one time a delicatesn, could be put into some other use. Hate to see these old places sitting idle and vacant.
So your right, we, dont’ need a Whole Foods ,or as was pointed out to me, there’s not enough market here to support a Trader Joes.
Just the addled thoughts from the mind of a kid who probaly ate to too many hamburgers at the Burger Bar! Take care , OLS
Don’t forget Danko’s West at the Y where the DMV used to be. J R had a sunken dining area.
Kenny, Thanks for the Danko’s reminder! JR was a really good guy. Met him him when I worked at Heavenly in the early 70’s. JR was part of a small invasion of a group of Texans and some from Oklahoma that came to So. Shore. What a crazy bunch they were!
Dankos served good food and some sort of a drink that was on fire. The flaming armadillo? Not sure if that what it was called, but it was a fun place to be, for sure. Old Long Skiis, (the guy with too many memories)
Flaming Armadillo is correct. He would line up the shots on the bar and pour the booze in between then light it up. We, Meyers Downtown Café Billy and Barbara, were just talking about that. We used to call the sunken dining area the Passion Pit
There are still some joints from those days that are still in business. That’s pretty incredible.
OLS, the old Grass Roots building (the blue one, right?) is getting a new lease on life! There is a great group in there as we speak ripping up the place to turn it into Moonhouse Brewhouse – a new coffee and beer collaborative complete with a community commercial kitchen! Can’t wait to see how it shapes up. It will be a great addition to the Y Area and SLT.
I am now the owner of the little blue house aka the old Grass Roots building. It was owned by my Aunt Marie and Uncle Don Bailey who bought it in the 60’s??? They did have a deli in there and my uncle got held up in 1970 and was shot – and died – as Barton Memorial had to transfer him to Nevada and things were not like they are now back then. He also owned a place at the “Y” called the “Y Coffee Shop” – anyone old enough to remember that? Wish I had some pictures – but I am the only family member alive and I live in Michigan. Let’s all root for the new business that is renting that building and keeping it alive – “Moonhouse Brewhouse” – !