Back in October, Marmot Properties and Tolles Development acquired more than 72,000 square feet of commercial space in Midtown. Six months later, they’ve leased out all of their buildings and now an array of new restaurants and retailers will be arriving in the coming months.
One of the new owners will be Tyler Colton. Colton will soon be moving his business into the corner lot across from Junkee, where he'll be opening a lounge-style bar called The Emerson.
“I just wanted to create something light and be part of this booming Reno,” said Emerson.
His two neighbors will be Sippees Kids Clothing Store and a new business called Food + Drink owned by Aaron Foster. Foster’s restaurant will occupy the old Happy Happy Joy Joy.
“The fact that it's changing so much, there's younger people coming in and lots of new ideas, that's always a fun thing to be a part of,” said Foster.
It's that bigger picture that Marmot Properties and Tolles Development are looking to address, by bringing in new dining and shopping offerings to the center and northern end of Midtown.
“We think that buy activating this corner behind us, that'll really bridge the gap and really drive a lot of customer traffic between north and south and help everybody around us,” said Eric Raydon, Managing Member with Marmot Properties.
He says it's not just the businesses who will benefit, but also the people who live nearby.
“Really walkable, bikable, dense neighborhoods right here, that's very much on trend for what people are looking for,” said Raydon.
Despite the trend, Raydon knows that vehicle traffic is still how a majority of their customers move around. For this reason, they're now offering free valet parking at the Sticks and Triple Seven Center during peak shopping hours.
“Trying to optimize and find parking wherever we can and that's through valet, that's through potential future development, all of the above,” said Raydon.
Other new tenant’s moving in will be a German style beer hall called BrauHaus 701, a local wine bar and retailer called Whispering Vine, and a clothing boutique called Sittie and Sage.
The incoming restaurants and retailers hope to open up shop by late summer.
