small business

Mountain Lakes Estates Retirement Living is giving the Reno community a delicious and easy way to support local mom-and-pop businesses. Each Wednesday beginning April 13, noon-2 p.m., the community will host a local food truck vendor at the corner of the property, located at 765 South Meadows Parkway.

755 Eats is the featured food truck on April 13, noon - 2 p.m. Accepts cash, credit card and Apple Pay.

Lety’s Tacos is scheduled for Wednesday, April 20, noon-2 p.m.

Wok & Roll Fusion is scheduled for April 27, noon- 2 p.m.

The Tahoe Chamber’s GO Local & Win Holiday Contest rewarded residents for spending locally during the holiday season in a time when small businesses needed it most. Kicking off in late November for Small Business Saturday, the holiday contest recorded $39,134 in spending at local restaurants and retailers through January 1st, a 291 percent increase from the 2019 contest.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - City Council will hold their first scheduled meeting of 2021 on Tuesday with discussion and possible vote on new proposals from the the City of South Lake Tahoe response to COVID-19, a summary of the new housing program and near term rental housing strategies, and the 2020 Lake Tahoe Airport Economic Impact Study findings.

The January 5 meeting starts at 9:00 a.m. and can be viewed on Channel 21 or online.

The agenda also includes consent items:
- Emergency Order No. 6 which authorizes cannabis retailers to temporarily operate curbside pickup.

Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak spoke to Nevadans Sunday afternoon to update them on the state's COVID-19 situation. He said the restrictions that went into effect three weeks ago will continue until January 15, 2021. Due to the rising COVID-19 cases and deaths in the state many thought he might impose stricter regulations.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Now that Small Business Saturday has come and gone, and there is still plenty of holiday shopping ahead during the month of December, South Tahoe Now has a proposition for local businesses.

Send us a few sentences of what makes you unique and what you offer for sale whether its jewelry, food, clothing, dog treats, experiences (and the list continues). What are your hours and do you have any special sales coming up? What is your address or website?

The Tahoe Chamber’s annual GO Local & Win holiday contest will launch on Small Business Saturday, November 28, and continue through January 1 to reward the community with cash prizes for shopping and dining at local businesses for the holidays.

This campaign comes at a critical time for businesses facing continued restrictions, and it is essential that the community band together and spend locally to save small businesses.

We are both running for South Lake Tahoe City Council to move our community past division, negativity, misinformation and finger pointing, and toward common ground solutions on critical issues. We’re all in this together.

One of priorities established by the Tahoe Prosperity Center (TPC) during the pandemic has been to help local businesses find ways to affordably obtain required Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

Through its participation in the El Dorado County Business Protection Workgroup, TPC has been able to help businesses find funding and develops plans to stay open through the impacts of COVID-19. They now have been able to procure the PPE needed to meet safety guidelines, protect employees and customers, and stay open for business.

EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. - A small business relief fund has been set up to assist in alleviating debt caused by the pandemic and COVID-10 related issues.

El Dorado County (EDC) has established a $5M Small Business Relief Fund through El Dorado Community Foundation (EDCF) to assist in coordinating the the Small Business Relief Fund with assistance from the El Dorado Hills Chamber of Commerce, El Dorado County Chamber of Commerce, and the Tahoe Chamber.

The Resilience Fund-Tahoe has funded its first local loan to Freshies Tahoe. The funds helped save their outdoor patio deck, which was in desperate need of repair and will be critical to ensuring their future success serving customers outdoors.

“After many months of unsuccessfully trying multiple federal avenues for support of Freshies during the business disruption caused by the pandemic, we are thrilled to have qualified for this very generous Resilience Fund loan! We are ready to get our deck open! Thank you so much,” said owners Erik and Melodie Ulman.

To further meet the needs of U.S. small businesses and non-profits, the U.S. Small Business Administration reopened the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and EIDL Advance program portal to all eligible applicants experiencing economic impacts due to COVID-19 Monday.

Since the beginning of March as the COVID-19 crisis was just beginning to feel like it could become a threat in our community, the El Dorado Community Foundation has granted out over $280,000 to individuals in need and nonprofits striving to continue providing their services through lost funding and canceled fundraisers.

The Foundation is beginning to shift focus from response to recovery as they see sectors of the community start to open back up. One component of that needed recovery will be in the form of financial support to the small business community.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - City Council approved $200,000 Tuesday to be used in the South Lake Tahoe community through business grants, COVID-related expenses, and a restaurant voucher program.

Following on the heels of their $50,000 donated to five nonprofits supplying food to the South Lake Tahoe community during the pandemic, the Council voted to follow the direction of the task force and allocate $100,000 to fund the COVID Compliance Grant Reimbursement Program, $50,000 for a Small Business Grant Program, and $50,000 to a Local Restaurant Voucher Program.

The following is a letter sent to El Dorado County and City of South Lake Tahoe. It is published here in its entirety at the request of the author.

The South Tahoe Chamber of Commerce would like to offer encouragement and support of a revival of the local economy, while continuing to keep the health and safety of our residents in mind. Cases of COVID-19 have remained low in our region when compared to other more populated areas around the State and Nation. We applaud the quick action taken by the County and City that has helped us keep the case count low.

LAKE TAHOE – The Tahoe Bliss Experiences®, together with local small business owners, produced the Virtual Bliss Assembly April 22-25 and raised $570 for Tahoe Magic during the event that included four days of live, online experiences that focused on ways in which each of us can remain mindful, fit, healthy, and aware while remaining safe at home.

The Tahoe Chamber is holding a Virtual Town Hall on Friday, May 1, from 11:00 a.m. to noon with the Sierra Small Business Development Center and the U.S. Small Business Administration. They will help participants navigate the refunding of the CARES Act and answer business owner's questions.

Speakers will include:

- Jessica Carr, Associate Director, Sierra Small Business Development Center
- Corey Williams, Public Information Officer, U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Disaster Assistance

Over a dozen Tahoe South health, wellbeing, and experience providers will be guiding virtual experiences over Zoom April 22 to April 25. Learn health and wellness practices that are applicable now as well as throughout the rest of your life. Engage with others, listen to music, learn new things, view Tahoe from the comfort and safety of your home, and engage in play.

People from both Lake Tahoe and outside the area are invited to join in. Develop new practices that can help you to remain mindful and calm no matter what is happening around you.

The City of South Lake Tahoe is currently accepting applications for community
members to join the newly formed transformational change sub-committee. This committee is focused on developing second and third economies for Tahoe in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.

The committee is proposing to bring together a diverse and innovative group of community stakeholders, thought leaders, and experts to implement policies, programs, and projects today that will have long term beneficial impacts for South Lake Tahoe over the next 50 years.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - With people unable to dine-in at restaurants in South Lake Tahoe due to concerns of the spread of the coronavirus, many are changing the way they've done business in the past in order to serve guests, keep some staff employed and keep afloat during these uncertain financial times.

So far, the following restaurants are offering new services in South Lake Tahoe:

Now that the Thanksgiving holiday is over, as is Black Friday, and Small Business Saturday is here, time can shift to nonshopping activities like volunteering and charity donations.

GivingTuesday is a global generosity movement unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and the world on December 3, 2019, and every day. There are several South Lake Tahoe nonprofits participating in GivingTuesday this year.

While many local groups have joined forces to develop housing for residents, the reality is that it takes time to build new housing. And time is what many of our local employers don't have right now as we head into summer. Faced with an immediate need to house their employees, employers have created their own solutions.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Leadership Lake Tahoe has been helping shape the South Shore community since 2003 and organizers are looking for the next class of participants for the ten-month program.

The intensive development program helps emerging leaders from various sectors of the community, including Barton Health and The City of South Lake Tahoe, as well as small business owners and entrepreneurs such as Cowork Tahoe, Lake Tahoe AleWorX and South Tahoe Now.

We are stronger at Lake Tahoe when we work together. Everyone benefits when people of different interests, backgrounds, and perspectives agree to bring their ideas, energy, and creativity to the table to shape solutions for a healthier, more vibrant, and sustainable Lake Tahoe.

Working together can be hard, of course. But we’ve built a spirit of collaboration at Lake Tahoe and it’s growing. Through it we are achieving things that once seemed impossible, things that we could never achieve working on our own.

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Have you been curious about using solar energy at your South Lake Tahoe home or business? Curious if we can use the panels on our snow-covered roofs?

Liberty Utilities is holding a free solar workshop in South Lake Tahoe on February 20 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the library to provide information on solar energy and their Solar Incentive Program.