Casey’s next to the Round Hill Safeway is becoming a locals’ hangout. Photo/LTN

By Kathryn Reed

Restaurant, sports bar, entertainment venue — Casey’s in the Round Hill Shopping Center is trying to have a little bit of something for everyone.

And now it can boast of having award-winning chili after chef Jorge Gonzalez won a cook-off last month in the Carson Valley. That same chili, which is a recipe Gonzalez created, is served at the South Shore restaurant.

Every Thursday at Casey’s a different nonprofit benefits from those bowls of chili, as a portion of the proceeds go to the charity.

For Tom Gallatin this is his first foray into the restaurant business. Prior to February, when he took over what was Coyote Grill, Gallatin had been an entrepreneur and an engineer in the tech industry. He has been in Tahoe since 2010 when he retired.

“I never owned a restaurant or small business before, but felt I knew what it was like to be a customer and understood things from the customers’ standpoint,” Gallatin told Lake Tahoe News.

Locals are hanging out at Casey’s regularly, but out-of-towners are also finding their way to the casual establishment.

First order of business for Gallatin was to improve the quality of food by changing suppliers and reducing prices. The menu was also altered a bit. He calls it “American comfort food with a Mexican section.”

The restaurant was remodeled at the get-go, now the bar is about to be overhauled. Starting Nov. 2 the eatery will be closed for a few days while a red granite bar top is installed with cherry wood on the front.

The layout changes are designed to improve service.

The beer system – with 10 taps – will all be new. Beer will be stored in the back with lines overhead in the ceiling, with a special cooling system. An inverted T structure will hang down over the top of the bar. The brass plumbing system will have lights around it so it will be the first thing people see.

Adjacent to where the food and drinks are served is what is called the living room. Down the road it will be revamped, too. This is where McAvoy Layne impersonates Mark Twain on the first Saturday of each month ($20 includes first drink), where on Sundays it becomes an open mic venue, and people can plan their special events.

With eight televisions, multiple sporting events are likely to be on.

The restaurant gets its name from the family dog Casey who died last year at age 23.

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Notes:

·       Address: 212 Elks Point Road, Round Hill.

·       Phone: 775-586-1822

·       Hours: 8am-9pm

·       More info is available online.