It’s afternoon at Sage Leaf, a cozy restaurant nestled along Tahoe Boulevard. Behind the counter, chef and owner Shane Hammett flips a burger. Its toasted bun is stamped with the restaurant’s logo, a small touch, but one that says a lot.
Sage Leaf is a family-run restaurant that has become a local staple over the past five years. Shane and his wife Lara, originally from Northern California, had a dream of moving to Tahoe to settle down.
“We would talk about it and fantasize about opening a restaurant together, and we just were, I guess, scared to take that huge leap of faith in doing that, because it's scary opening a business,” she said.
That dream turned real in 2020, just as the world was shutting down. Sage Leaf opened its doors on June 4, the day when restaurants were allowed to reopen in Nevada.
“We had a very solid plan in place. And then a few weeks later, we were in a pandemic. We were furloughed from our jobs, and we kind of didn't know how we were going to go about it, but we adapted and rolled with the punches,” he said.
Despite the hurdles, shutdowns, social distancing, and seasonality, they’ve thrived. From a five-day brunch spot to a full-service establishment, Sage Leaf has grown with its community. Locals show up for scratch-made meals, like their signature Tahoe Blue French Toast.
Now they are expanding to Midtown Reno, taking over the former location of Laughing Planet.
Businesses in Incline Village often face major challenges just to sustain a first location. Staffing depends on commuters and weather conditions.
“If I post a line cook position, if I get 60 applicants, 58 of them are from Carson and Reno, we almost get nobody that's up here locally in Lake Tahoe, and a lot of that is due to that housing market,” Hammett said.
The restaurant’s manager, Justin Ozuna, lives in Sparks and commutes to Incline Village.
"Employers are mostly understanding but it also requires planning, so if you know a storm is rolling in, you need to leave three hours early for work, because if you don’t, you’ll be four hours late to work,” Ozuna said.
Location is another challenge, said Mike O’Neill, with the Incline Village and Crystal Bay Business Association.
“We have no real discernible downtown area, and so people's businesses can be scattered throughout all of the town and people driving through, or people just coming to the area, might have a hard time locating their businesses,” he said.
He said another is the seasonality of the area.
“So, we deal with a significant decline in population, which obviously hurts the businesses,” he said.
A recent report by JPMorganChase Institute, analyzing the long-term effects of the pandemic on small businesses, found that approximately 32% had closed by 2024. That means nearly 1 in 3 small businesses operating before COVID-19 in the U.S. did not survive long-term.
Expanding beyond Incline Village has its challenges. But some have made it work.
Inclined Burgers and Brews, once a walk-up spot near the lake, opened a second location in Reno’s Moana district. And Drink Coffee Do Stuff, which began as a roastery in Incline Village and Truckee, now has two Reno cafes, which opened earlier this year.
These businesses have become pillars of the community, O’Neill said. Their strong local foundation has enabled them to take the next step and grow into new markets like Reno, he said.
As for Lara and Shane, they’re hopeful the Reno community will welcome Sage Leaf the way Incline Village has.
The new Reno location will have the same name and hand-crafted approach, with a little more space and maybe some live jazz on the patio.
