Tag: carsoncity

I got a little scare last week when I drove past the location of our new Trader Joe's and saw that the "Coming Soon" signs had been removed. A wave of panic washed over me: had the deal fallen through? Is Carson City not getting a Trader Joe's after all?

My mind was eased a little last weekend when I talked with someone who has connections in Douglas County, who said that it was still going in, there had just been some permitting delays. But it wasn't until today that I was able to breathe deeply again. That's when I drove by the Clear Creek Plaza strip mall and saw this:

They only took down the small signs so they could put up bigger ones! That's good news, and it also means that construction should now be starting in earnest. Not only are there work trucks piled up in the parking lot, there's also a job trailer parked out front.

So now it's just a matter of waiting while the inside of the store is built, the employees hired and trained, and the shelves stocked. And then Carsonites won't have to drive to Reno anymore to go to Trader Joe's. They'll just have to drive to Douglas County.

Here is one of the first pictures of the inside construction:

Let's hope they get it done quick!

Construction on CaiE's Oriental Cafe in the Sweetland Building is coming along. First they re-opened the window that used to be along Proctor Street back when it was known at the Pine Cone Cafe, and now they've put in the glass.

Construction has finally started on the Asian restaurant that was announced three months ago inside the Sweetland Building, at the corner of Carson and Proctor. CaiE's Oriental Cafe (I hope I spelled that right...I copied and pasted it from the Appeal's website) will feature a casual Asian menu, with "22 different entrees, three different soups, which will change on a daily basis, and Dim Sum."

It's good to see another restaurant going into this space, and apparently that's what the owner, Sperry Van Ness, was holding out for. Although I'm not sure about another Asian restaurant opening so close to the Thai Basil, which is just two doors down. But I guess two Italian restaurants, Garibaldi's and B'sghetti's, have been co-existing right across the street from each other for years now, so downtown Carson can handle a little competition. Still, I would have liked to see something else, maybe something with more of a Southwest/Tex-Mex flavor.

The space that CaiE's is moving into was formerly home to Garibaldi's, before it relocated a couple of doors north and pushed into the space occupied by the short-lived Flying Pig Pizza Company. The space which the Flying Pig had just taken over from the late, lamented Nick's Pizza, which I still miss to this day. Damn you, Nick's! Damn you for closing!

Going back to the space on the corner, it originally, back when the Sweetland Building opened in 1938, was home to the Pine Cone Cafe, a popular downtown hangout for Carson High students. One feature of the Pine Cone was a large circular window on the south side of the building, which had since been bricked over. The new owners are bringing it back, which I think is awesome. Anything to tip your hat to Carson City's history, you know?

October 4th construction, reopening the old window.

The Pine Cone Cafe in its heyday, looking through the circular window.

Halloween is becoming a bigger deal every year in Carson City. The Ghost Walk itself has become a huge event over the last few years, and now the Visitor's Bureau is taking steps to make it even bigger by teaming up with their neighbor to the south, Douglas County. This year seems to be the inaugural year of the "Haunted Weekend", taking place October 20, 21 and 22.

For one price ($30), you can take part in four different ghostly events around the Carson and Eagle Valleys:

• October 20: Meet the ghosts of Gardnerville on the guided Haunted Ghost Walk. Meet at the Carson Valley Museum & Cultural Center. Tours depart hourly between 6:30-8:30 p.m.
• October 21 Day: The popular Carson City Kit Carson Trail Ghost Walk begins at 9 a.m. and departs every half-hour until 3 p.m. from Third & Carson Streets. This year's theme is Grave Concerns. Guided walking tours offer ghostly glimpses into the residents who made history here. There are two tours:
  • The Resurrection Tour features spirits appearing in: Brewery Arts Center, Esser Home, United Methodist Church, Brougher Bath House and Rinckel Mansion.
  • The Remembrance Tour features spirits appearing in: Stewart Nye Home, Edwards House, The Bliss Bungalow, and Bliss Mansion.
• October 21 Evening: Cemeteries hold special fascinations for many and make one wonder about those buried beneath. Wonder no more about these "past lives" as the ghosts of the historic Genoa Cemetery come to life between 6:30-8 p.m. Meet at the cemetery.
• October 22: Learn even more about Genoa's haunted sites on the Genoa Ghost Walk between 10:30-11:30 a.m. Meet at Genoa Courthouse Museum.

This seems to be a pretty excellent promotion, and a good demonstration of the two counties coming together to attract visitors. Of course you can buy tickets to each of these events separately as well. The Carson City Ghost Walk is $15, and each of the others is $5 apiece.

You can make reservations by calling (775)987-7410, or download the PDF form (80kb) and fax it in.

Contributor Cheryl sent in this picture of a Trader Joe's sign in the window at Clear Creek Plaza. I guess I really did miss the sign when I went down to look the other day.

There is life inside the empty storefronts at Clear Creek Plaza. The "For Lease" signs have come down, paper has gone up in the windows, and workers are going in and out of Suite 401. Could this be the start of construction on the fabled Carson City Trader Joe's?

I had an anonymous commenter yesterday who said that the Trader Joe's in Carson City is scheduled to open on September 29th of this year. That's great news, but there's one big piece of the story that's still missing; where is it going to be?

My bet is still on this place:

That's in the Clear Creek Plaza next to the Douglas County Wal*Mart. These buildings are brand new, and right now there are only a few tenants, like Subway and a rent-to-own place. Tons of storefronts are still available, and I could see Trader Joe's snatching up several of them to build their store. Also, the few news reports I've seen on the topic have said it's moving into the Clear Creek Plaza.

Which brings on more confusion. I saw a report on the Channel 2 news out of Reno that mentioned Trader Joe's, but showed video of this building being worked on:

There's a problem here: this is the Carson Valley Plaza. And, there's no way this is going to be done by September 29th. Plus it's way to small.

So that puts us back across the street at Clear Creek. I'm sure that's where it's going, and everytime I drive by I look for signs of activity. But still, even today, the For Lease signs are up in the windows. So I can't be sure until I see workmen move in to start converting the building.

Which should be happening soon, if the store's going to open in 10 weeks. Get hopping, guys!

I've been meaning to take this photo and post it for weeks. Every day I drive by and say, "Gosh, I really need to stop and get that picture. Maybe tomorrow." I've been shirking my duties, is what I've been doing. So here I am to rectify that.

This photo is the site of the old Bodine's restaurant. Demolition took place last month, and now the restaurant, trailer park, outbuildings, and trees are all gone. There's just that one big tree that they spared from the bulldozer, one solitary reminder of the resturant that used to be there.

So long Bodine's. And soon, hello casino.

Bodine's Restaurant has fallen. They brought in the excavator this morning and completely flattened it. By 9am it was splinters.

The restaurant was the last building left on this corner lot. Now all they have to do is haul away the debris and take down the sign, the flagpole and a few more trees. After that's done they'll have a clean lot, and then they can start cutting the foundation for the new casino.

It's just as much of a shame to see the old trees go as it is the casino, especially this large cottonwood that was right out front. But it does seem like they're leaving a lot of the trees around the perimeter, so the lot won't be completely bare. It will still be fenced in by a berm of trees, isolated from the fairgrounds in its own shady little spot. Buildings can be put together in a year, but it takes decades for trees to grow this big. They'd be wise to keep a few.

The demolition of Bodine's Restaurant continues. Many of the trees in the old mobile home park have fallen. All that's left now is the restaurant building itself.