Business Profile: Tahoe Fresh Co./Tahoe BBQ Gives Back
May 25, 2022 | Mike Danahey
If you’ve dined out in Incline Village, chances are you’ve stopped by Austin’s for some comfort food, FUMO for breakfast or dinner and drinks, Cool Mess for ice cream or coffee or Gus’ Open Pit Barbecue for some smoky Santa Maria-style deliciousness.
Those spots are all part of Nellie and Jonas Saia’s Tahoe Fresh Co./Tahoe BBQ business. By supporting them, patrons keep their dining dollars local while satisfying their appetites.
They also help nourish Incline’s young minds, as Tahoe Fresh Co./Tahoe BBQ frequently lends support in a number of ways to Incline’s public schools.
“We continue to be thankful for the support of the community and want to be a part in helping make this community strong,” Tahoe Fresh Co./Tahoe BBQ Office Manager Lisa Richards said.
In February, the company’s various spots donated gift cards for the Incline Elementary School Mardi Gras fundraiser. For the auction at Incline High’s Annual Crab Feed March 19, Tahoe Fresh Co./Tahoe BBQ is offering a NCAA March Madness Sweet 16 package, a private party for up to 50 guests March 24 at Gus’s, with some special guests and food included.
Tahoe Fresh Co./Tahoe BBQ restaurants have also provided eats for celebrations like Teacher Appreciation Week. Cool Mess donated gift cards to be used in the public schools’ positive behavior rewards program.
“The business has encouraged guests to give via a QR code at the tables in its restaurants,” Richards said. “We also tried to assist the Incline Education Fund with a Dollars for Scholars promotion late last year.”
“We are eager to see what opportunities there are to participate in future IEF giving campaigns,” Richards said. “They do such great work for all our schools, and we are happy to assist their efforts.”
Tahoe Fresh Co./Tahoe BBQ restaurants also provide jobs for a handful of Incline High students to give them real world work experience.
Richards said, “Many of our team members have attended Incline schools, come to work for us during summers, or to support themselves once they graduate and are attending local colleges. The Sais’s have two children of their own attending IES, “who were blessed to be born and raised here,” Richards said.
Visit the restaurants online
Austin’s Cool Mess FUMO Nevada Jane
**This article originally appeared in the Spring 2022 issue of LIVE.WORK.PLAY., IVCBA’s magazine. See it and read other stories and issues here.