Update on re-opening of Santa Fe Basque restaurant in Reno

Johnathan L. Wright
Reno Gazette-Journal
The Santa Fe Hotel, a Basque restaurant and residence in downtown Reno, has been closed since its July 2017 purchase by Reno businessman Dennis Banks. The Reno fixture could re-open in July 2019 after missing a tentative re-opening in May.

The Basque restaurant in the Santa Fe Hotel could be pouring Picon punches again as soon as July.

"July 9th is very likely" the date for re-opening, owner Dennis Banks wrote in response to an inquiry from @RGJTaste

The restaurant portion of the Basque restaurant and residence, a downtown Reno fixture for more than 70 years, has been closed since Banks purchased the North Lake Street building in July 2017.

In a March interview with @RGJTaste, Banks said the restaurant could re-open in May, but renovations are still proceeding.

As the owner said in March, when those renovations are complete, they will include a bar station dedicated to Picon punch, the herbal aperitif cocktail created by Basque immigrants to Northern Nevada and elsewhere in the Mountain West.

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SANTA FE HOTEL

Address: 235 N. Lake St.

Phone: 775-323-1891

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The renovations also include new electric, plumbing and heating systems; a new kitchen and bathrooms; new furniture; more beers on tap; manhattans and old-fashioneds on tap; and images, flags and other Basque memorabilia brought up from the basement to garnish the walls.

The classic Basque menu built from soup, salad, beans, french fries and choice of main course will remain essentially unchanged, Banks said in March. And folks will still eat at communal tables in the main dining room.

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Johnathan L. Wright is the food and drink editor of RGJ Media, part of the USA Today Network. Join @RGJTaste on TwitterFacebook and Instagram