South Lake Tahoe Landmark Restaurant Torn Down; New Building on the Way

It was once a plumbing supply store. It was once Johnny's Basque Restaurant. It was once the Vali-Hi. It was once the China Wok. For a short time, it was Godfather's Pizza. Most recently, it was a series of Chinese buffets. But that was then.

The building was torn down last week to make way for the future home of SUP Tahoe and South Shore Bikes.

As a young teen my family would stop by Vali-Hi when visiting South Lake Tahoe for ski weekends. Their five course meals were famous. For those that lived on the south shore from the 60's to the 80's, you may remember the bowl of minestrone soup that greeted you as you prepared to order from a menu that was complete with Cioppino, warm spinach salad, steamed clams and prime rib.

Kathy King, owner of the popular culinary stop from 1969-about 1985 (the spry 85 year old thinks is was about then), shared some of the building's history with me this afternoon.

She bought the business and land from John Hasty, who's restaurant was also named Vali-Hi in 1969. She ran the coffee shop style restaurant Hasty left for 30 days, then closed it down for 3 months to remodel. King used her mother's Italian recipes to plan her first menus, then moved into more sauteing and were the first to offer family style banquets. Her son Ken, still a South Lake Tahoe resident, said they had the largest seafood menu on the south shore. "You never left hungry," he said.

Ken met his wife Rosemary at the Vali-Hi when they were both working there. They have now been married 40 years. He lived behind the restaurant in a trailer. Ken said it was great unless someone didn't make it into work and then he got the dreaded knock on his door to get to work. Ken's sister Kathy also worked at the restaurant, making it a true family affair.

The senior Kathy King said she worked hard, but had a great time running Vali-Hi.

Many of the south shore's big name entertainment stopped by Vali-Hi for dinner when they were in town. King said she was invited many times to the casino shows to see her patron's acts.

Thinking she was going to move to Oregon to retire, King sold the restaurant to a Godfather's Pizza franchisee in 1980. They were in business just 10 months when she was asked if she wanted the restaurant back. She moved back to Lake Tahoe and reopened, but this time as the China Wok since the area had no Chinese restaurants at the time. She operated China Wok for a few years then leased it to a family while she continued to run the piano bar inside.

After that, a few Chinese buffets called the location home but never seemed to make it in the location.

SUP Tahoe bought the location and will be building their new building soon, and bringing in neighboring South Shore Bikes, making it a recreational hub.

Both of those businesses will remain in their current location until the building is finished. BevMo will be moving into their new Lake Tahoe location in the building that currently houses SUP Tahoe and South Shore Bikes. The original move in date for BevMo was going to be June 1 but that is delayed.

Photo of building provided by Stephen Gennerich