Tahoe City just acquired a fresh welcoming face. The North Lake Tahoe Chamber of Commerce recently unveiled a brand new visitor center, located at the Wye in the old Porter’s outlet store.
“There’s just so much to offer in the community. We needed a spot where we could highlight everything,” said Kym Fabel, manager of the visitor centers in Tahoe City, Kings Beach, and Reno Tahoe International Airport. “This location became available and it is just perfect. Now we are really visible.”
A grand opening ceremony for the pedestrian-friendly venue was held June 12, and attended by an enthusiastic community. “We were expecting maybe 100 to 250 people,” Fabel said. “Four hundred people showed!”
The new center keeps it local and features merchandise made in the area, including products from Juju Z., Wolfdale’s, Quail Lane Press, Functional Metal Work, Tahoe Teas, BigTruck Hats, and a full array of books and maps.
“We have a really amazing entrepreneurial community here. We want to make sure we are featuring all Tahoe-made merchandise,” Fabel said.
The local focus started from the ground up. Local craftsmen did the renovation and were instrumental in getting the new center open quickly. After months of design, it took just a month to renovate the interior and move in — a speedy timeline that required coordination by the contractors, Fabel said. At times, there were as many as five contractors working at once.
Local craftsmen who worked on the project include Bratt Brothers Construction, Alpine Stone Works, Roundwood Furniture, Tahoe Roofing Company, Lighting at Kings Beach, Italia Granite, Kelly Brothers Painting, Mountain Home Center, Abel’s Maintenance, Christine Karnofsky Landscape Design, MDL Electric, Functional Designs, Great Basin Windows, GilanFarr + Associates Architecture, and Tahoe City Lumber.
In addition to promoting local businesses through educational materials, the center will showcase an artist every month on the “art” wall. Touch-screen computers are available for visitors to dig up information, and a conference room, with a giant idea board, is available to rent.
The Tahoe City Visitors Center is open every day, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For information about displaying your local products, contact Visitor Information Services Manager Emily Detwiler at Emily@puretahoenorth.com or (530) 581-8778.
