Developer creates position

Greg Peters and his wife, Donna Eaton, figure they're building themselves jobs with the hamburger eatery they're developing in northwest Reno.

Peters will manage the Tahoe Burger he's developing in a 5,200-square-foot retail center at the corner of Robb Drive and Sharlands Avenue for at least the first year. The project, which broke ground in December, should be framed out by the end of February and completed by the end of May, says Kirk Naisbitt of general contractor Naisbitt Company. Peters expects to have the eatery open by mid-June after a few weeks of employee training.

"I will be there the first year for sure, flipping burgers, working the window whatever needs to be done," he says.

Securing funding for the $2 million project was extremely challenging, Peters says. His development company, Eating Crow LLC, spent two months working with Wachovia only to watch the near collapse of

Wachovia last fall before its takeover by Wells Fargo. Eating Crow eventually secured capital from a bank in Temecula, Calif., after some online shopping.

Tahoe Burger will take 2,700 square feet of space, and Peters is toying with the idea of a frozen custard shop to be dubbed "Polar Bear Frozen Treats" in another 1,000 square feet, as well as a frame shop.

He says he opted for an upscale burger shop because the nearest drive-through services are located several miles away on McCarran Boulevard.

"The location is just superb," Peters says. "The property itself is the only drive-through available in that corner. It is a real good traffic count off that exit, so we wanted some sort of drive-through."

Peters says the location originally was intended to be a Starbucks, but that store eventually was located to the north at Robb Drive and Mae Anne Avenue. By purchasing the land he received permitted plans for the building.