Keys Cafe opens satellite summer location at Camp Richardson

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Locals and visitors can now enjoy the signature coffee, smoothies, and baked goods of Keys Cafe at both ends of the bike trail with the addition of a satellite location in Camp Richardson's Coffee & Confectionery shop located on Highway 89.

We really saw this as a great opportunity and a synergy between our two businesses,” said Jeremy Gilpin, co-owner of the Tahoe Keys Café. “With such diverse menus we were able to come together and not cross, but be an added benefit to the resort.”

Keys Café at Camp Richardson is offering the coffee and smoothie menu of its main store as well as baked goods, including many gluten free options, naked juices, and grab and go muffins. The coffee shop is open 6:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., seven days a week throughout the summer.

“Tahoe Keys Café is the perfect partner for the coffee shop,” said Vanessa Santora, director of resort operations for Camp Richardson. “We wanted to keep the coffee shop unique and local and that is Tahoe Keys Café. We think it will be a popular choice for our guests and for locals headed out to the beaches and trails.”

Tahoe Keys Café opened at it’s main location on U.S. Highway 50 in 2009, Gilpin said a main reason they bought the café was to ensure it didn’t turn into a national chain.

“We are very Tahoe unique,” Gilpin added. “It’s also nice that by coming into Camp Richardson some of our gross sales go back to the U.S. Forest Service and preserving Tahoe. Camp Richardson knows hospitality and camping and we know coffee. It’s a good thing when two local entities that care about the community are working together.”

Gilpin said the café’s loyalty card program, buy 10 coffees and get one free, will work in both locations and customers will see the same familiar faces at Camp Richardson.

“We are rotating our employees between the two locations. It gives everyone the chance to change up their routine so everybody stays fresh at each shop,” Gilpin said.

Retail at Camp Richardson will include the café’s private label coffee, and an assortment of branded stickers, shirts, and clay mugs.