After a couple years of speculation, Cracker Barrel is officially coming to Reno. It is the latest business to sign on as a tenant in the West End Commons on Keystone Ave. and Fifth St.Â
"The rumors have been flying around town about Cracker Barrel coming," Blake Smith, Managing Partner of S3 Development said. "We've been in discussions with them for several years but they will be this pad over here."
The restaurant will be on the north side of the 10-acre property. It will sit adjacent to Firehouse Subs, which is expected to open in February. The owner of Firehouse Subs says West End Commons is coming along well and expects Cracker Barrel and the other businesses to feed off each other.
"It's elevated and I think a lot of people my age can remember when this was Keystone Cue & Cushion back in the day, and a little pool hall and beer place," Damon Kreizenbeck, owner of Firehouse Subs said. "To see this develop into what it is now is fantastic and I think it's a great thing for the community and I just can't wait for everything to open."
Cracker Barrel is based in Tennessee. It is going through the permitting process and it is expected to break ground on the West End building very soon.
"Cracker Barrel, you know, is almost cult-like," Smith said. "It has a following across the nation. They have about 600 different restaurants across the nation. They have one in Las Vegas and this will be the second one in the state of Nevada."
The national restaurant chain will take up 10,486 square feet of the complex, providing another anchor to the new development.
"Super excited about it," Smith said. "They're a wonderful tenant, along with the other ones that we have here. The center has really turned out special for us."
Starbucks is already open in the West End Commons. Northern Nevada's fourth In-N-Out Burger is built and very close to opening, along with Chipotle and Mountain Mike's Pizza. The businesses are expected to bring lots of customers. Smith says the In-N-Out Burger has a drive-through that can accommodate 32 cars, along with an overflow system.
Creating West End Commons has taken several years. A ditch used to run down the middle of the property. S3 Development spent several million dollars to turn it into a tunnel in order to develop the entire property. There is still some available space for additional building, as well as three acres on the east side to build a four-story apartment complex with 305 units and a parking structure. West End Commons is near Reno's Neon Line District, which is also in the process of revitalization. Smith says his development is a gateway to the Neon Line.
"This is a great revitalization for this quadrant of the city," Smith said. "It's a freeway onramp. We wanted to make sure the architecture was well, the tenancy was well."
Construction is expected to start on the apartments in the third quarter of 2022. Smith says he will likely announce more tenants in the next couple of months.
