Reno Public Market holds grand opening at former Shoppers Square site

Five years and one pandemic later, the reimagined Shoppers Square finally celebrated its grand opening as Reno Public Market on Friday.

Developer Foothill Partners marked the occasion with the obligatory fanfare, which included several local officials making an appearance in front of the Reno Public Market steps in the afternoon. The festivities also included various events such as a scavenger hunt and art making for children.

For project partner Rick Casazza, whose family founded Shoppers Square, the grand opening has been a long time coming. 

More:Reno Public Market soft opening attracts 12,300 visitors at former Shoppers Square site

It felt like it was only yesterday when his family was breaking ground on Shopper’s Square on Plumb Lane and South Virginia Street, Casazza said. To see the property get a second life now was just “awesome,” he added.

“You never really know what will happen until you open but there’s been a lot of people so it’s just nuts,” Casazza said. “(The response) has been beyond our wildest dreams.”

First announced in 2018, Reno Public Market would break ground a year later with construction expected to wrap up in 2021. 

COVID-19, however, threw a wrench in the project, which was re-designed to accommodate the realities brought about by the pandemic. The changes include the addition of more open spaces and outdoor seating.

The late 2022 opening was delayed yet again following an issue with permitting, which was done for the food hall as a whole instead of each individual space. This meant an issue with one space or vendor could lead to the whole food hall shutting down.

The issues were eventually ironed out, however, and the food hall has been humming since Jan. 5 after a soft opening. The food hall, which was primarily populated with food truck vendors as opposed to big fast food chains, was the most anticipated amenity for Reno Public Market. The interest was reflected in the number of visitors to the food hall, which attracted about 12,300 visitors during the first four days since its soft opening. 

Friday and the weekends have been especially busy at Reno Public Market. About 5,200 people visited last Friday, which was then followed by 5,800 people on Saturday, according to Nettie Oliviero, Reno Public Market’s arts and culture director.

“I was wondering, what part of ‘soft’ is this (opening)?” Oliviero said. “We had so much snow but people were coming in like wet dogs.”

Look back:Demolition starts as old Shoppers Square gives way to Reno Public Market

The public response also shocked several vendors.

Kevin Panche, co-owner of A La Parilla Latin Food, joked that it was going to be tough to get a vacation after this.

“The amount of people — that was the biggest surprise,” the 29-year-old Panche said. “We were not expecting that it would be this busy.”

Interest continued to hold up in the days leading to the grand opening with the venue bustling as families and friends tried out burgers, barbecue, pizza, pupusas, crepes, churros and other food items served by the various vendors. 

More adult fare such as drinks and cocktails were also available at stalls such as Miches Vatos and the Honey Bar, which caught the attention of Taylor Libby, a traveling nurse from Ohio.

“I really like the diversity, not just in the culture but also the ages (of people who come),” Libby said. “It’s very family friendly … but it also has drinks.” 

Libby also appreciated the fact that the businesses were mostly local mom-and-pop shops. The absence of major fast-food chains in the food hall is by design, said Steve Schroeder, who oversees the indoor food hall as general manager of FIRETEN Hospitality.

“Reno Public Market offers a true sense of what Reno’s local food scene has to offer all under one roof.” Schroeder said. 

“We have a very diverse food offering here. All our vendors are local operators.”

Angela Gonzales, whose daughter Vivianna Pina started the V’s Churro Bar food truck, said it was great to have a dedicated space with a steady flow of customers. Having a spot inside Reno Public Market means they can operate daily instead of just during weekends or special events.

The income from the location has also been good, Gonzales added.

“It’s wonderful,” Gonzales said. “It’s been a blessing being here.”

In addition to the food hall, Reno Public Market has new businesses such as Far Out, Maker’s Paradise Art Collective and Wyld Market. It also has longtime tenants occupying spaces outside of the food hall building, which include traditional chains such as CVS, Cold Stone Creamery and Port of Subs.

Braighlee Rainey, an artist who was doing a painting demonstration just outside Wyld Market, liked how Reno Public Market is also focusing on arts and culture.

“A lot of other cities have something like this so I think Reno is coming into its own with this combination of food, people, culture and the concept of getting friends and family together,” Rainey said.

The grand opening caps the revitalization of the former Shoppers Square site, which saw a slow and steady decline of the popular retail center over several years.

Back in 2019, Casazza told the Reno Gazette Journal that things got so bad for the property that his late father Ralph Casazza “would be rolling in his grave.”

These days, Casazza sounds more upbeat. 

While looking at the property’s walls in November and reminiscing about past tenants such as Skaggs drug store and Ben Franklin’s Crafts, Casazza expressed hope that the reimagined space would bring together older and younger generations to the property.

“We want it to be their living room,” Casazza said.

Doug Wiele, president and founding partner of Foothill Partners, echoed Casazza’s sentiment during Reno Public Market’s grand opening day.

Wiele said that traffic has been double of what they have been projecting, though he declined to share what those initial projections were.

“This is, so far, beyond what we expected,” Wiele said. “I honestly don’t know what to think.”

The question now is just how much of the initial traffic Reno Public Market will retain. 

Given that the place is still new, it’s understandable that many people want to check it out, Casazza said. The response is an affirmation of all the hard work as well as the trials and tribulations that the project had to go through to get to this point, he added.

“I don’t know where (the numbers) will settle but people have been excited about it,” Casazza said. “The vibe is so good.”

Reno Public Market’s food hall restaurants

Here’s the full list of food vendors for Reno Public Market’s food hall.

• Morning Glory: Raw food and cold press juices
• Batch & Co: Baked goods and treats
• Miches Vatos: Micheladas and ceviche
• Honey Bar Reno: Beer, wine and spirits
• Main Vein Coffee Co: Coffee and treats
• Pie-Ya: Pizza
• Fuego Street Tacos: Street tacos, burritos and quesadillas
• Wok n Roll: Asian fusion
• V’s Churro Bar: Churros and churro sundaes
• A La Parilla Latin Food: Guatemalan, Colombian and Argentine fare
• Bite Me: Loaded fries
• Burger NV: Burgers and sandwiches
• Crepes & Craft: Sweet and savory crepes, breakfast sandwiches and waffles
• Los Cipotes Salvadoran: Salvadoran food
• Bone Appetit Bar-B-Que Grill: Southern barbecue
• Brazilian Gourmet: Brazilian food
• FiftyFifty Brewing Co.: Craft beer (coming soon at the north end of the food hall’s anchoring restaurant)
• Noodle Station: Noodles, bao, beer (coming soon)