Pandemic puppies are giving dog training and boarding operations a rise in new business.
Code Ninjas is a karate-themed coding "dojo" where children ages 7-14 learn to build video games, robotics and drones as they program in JavaScript, Lua and C Sharp.
Thousands of preschools and daycares across the country have closed temporarily or permanently as a pandemic casualty. Here in Washoe County, 23 businesses have closed permanently between February 2020 and June 2021.
In the COVID era of rising material costs and massive project delays, companies that use non-traditional building materials may have a leg up on the competition.
The Mountain family, recent Vegas-to-Reno transplants, have established Slieve Brewing Company — Slieve means “A Mountain” in Irish Gaelic, a nod to their family roots.
In Reno-Sparks, even before the pandemic, finding enough qualified people to place into open jobs was an issue, said Celeste Johnson, CEO of The Applied Companies.
"It was no-brainer for both of us" — this spring, Reno-based Lead Dog Brewing Company was acquired by Mammoth Brewing Company; the two brands will remain “unique and distinct” moving forward.
"The older half of the Baby Boomer generation is selling, and the younger half of the Baby Boomer generation is buying. It’s very interesting.”
“The processing times on submitted a 504 loan used to be in the neighborhood of three to five days. Now, it’s 20 working days because their volume is so backlogged."
As the pandemic lingers, financial institutions are navigating plenty of challenges throughout the rest of 2021 — from low interest rates impacting profitability to the surge of deposits putting balance sheets off-kilter, Northern Nevada banks are not simply swimming in money like Scrooge McDuck.
Demand for fresh local food is one of the reasons farmers markets have grown in both popularity and size in recent years — thanks in part to the the pandemic, demand has skyrocketed this summer.
If 2020 and now 2021 have taught us anything, it’s that mortality is inevitable. And that has put a spotlight on the need for Northern Nevada adults, young and old, to get estate plans in order.
No matter one's age, the pandemic accelerated the move to digital forms of all kinds of transactions — and that's been best for business for the flourishing fintech industry here in Reno and beyond.
"At the time, there was still a lot of uncertainty ... If you took the same survey now, I would speculate that the survey would have much more optimistic results," notes Rick Thomas, executive VP/Northern Nevada executive of Nevada State Bank.
"I think we are at the point where we’re starting to really be able to differentiate between some of the changes that were temporary and some of the changes that are permanent given the pandemic."
Whitney Peak Hotel has 30% to 40% fewer employees than it did pre-pandemic; to fill the labor gap, the hotel's managers and other staff are taking on extra tasks, including some housekeeping duties.
"I think the biggest opportunity for our city is showcasing our region’s quality of life and access to the outdoors."
At Nevada Physical Therapy, bar tables, video games and pinball machines have been replaced by exam benches, free weights and elliptical machines thanks to a nearly $1.4 million investment in the Midtown building.
Over a decade ago, while the Reno+Sparks Chamber of Commerce and Northern Nevada Chamber of Commerce both wanted to grow business in the region and push the recession-riddled economy forward, they were “philosophically very different."
Last month, Stewart Title announced the combination of its two Northern Nevada divisions — Western Division and Legacy Division — into one unified team.
On June 15, ITS Logistics announced that it has sold to GHK Capital Partners LP, a Greenwich, Connecticut-based private equity firm focused on making control investments within the industrials sector.
Dry cleaning operations in the U.S. lost about 80% of their revenue immediately after pandemic closures began last spring. In the aftermath, one in six dry cleaners have either closed for good or filed for bankruptcy.
“My only option at this point would be to basically sell it at a loss ... I’d have to sell it for pennies compared to what we made it for," Ferino Distillery owner Joe Cannella says about the 5,000 or so leftover bottles of sanitizer collecting dust at his Reno business.
Microsoft Reno and BluePeak Technology Solutions partnered on the 13th annual IT Makeover Campaign.
Playfield '76, the former Imperial Bar in Downtown Reno, is slated to open as an arcade-themed bar in early August.
"We’re the Battle Born state — Nevadans are resilient people. We have a strong business climate with friendly tax laws, which will help retain businesses."
Arkansas-based Slim Chickens plans to open four locations in Northern Nevada over the next few years, with the help of restaurant entrepreneur Roy Perez.
The company offers whole-body cryotherapy, in which clients are exposed to negative 200-degree temperatures for three minutes.
Highway Ventures LLC's Josh Thieriot who bought the building for $2.26 million this year, envisions an open-air marketplace where vendors such as espresso bars, eateries and retail kiosks can live.
“We’re lucky to be in the space we’re in. I don’t see any slowdown in the next few years. There’s so much opportunity out there," says John Zink, president of IT Avalon, which opens its Reno HQ next month.
“We’re very excited and happy to be in Sparks" — Spearpoint Logistics, which launched in 2019, recently expanded into a 50,000-square-foot facility at 1280 Icehouse Ave.
Reno was ranked the 12th-best city in American for young professionals, according to recent study from financial technology company SmartAsset.
After big revenue gains in part due to COVID in 2020, regional HVAC companies like Sierra Air Inc. and Roper’s Heating and Air Conditioning are dealing with greater demand in 2021 as temperatures rise and new equipment calls intensify.
In early May, Hearty Pet expanded west by moving into a 27,000-square-foot fulfillment center at 900 Southern Way in Sparks.
"I think that I can really see Reno-Sparks being a place where people want to come to live and work and play," says Joel Peixoto.
“COVID has accelerated user behavior by 10 years, where contactless payments and mobile orders have become the new norm,” says Eric Liao, co-founder of Drank, a startup that recently relocated to Reno from the Bay Area.
Many mattress retailers are experiencing a bounce in business — mattress sales increased by more than 30% in 2020 compared to 2019 — including Sierra Mattress Company in Reno. At Carson City Mattress Outlet, however, it's a slightly different story.
Business owners plan and adapt to a lot of things for their day-to-day operations. That’s never been truer than the past year amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Bubble tea shops have been popping up across Reno-Sparks in recent years; these days, they're dealing with a massive global shortage of their key ingredient. Meanwhile, companies that manufacture organic tea products are also navigating the challenges of a snarled supply chain.
The seeds of the auto industry’s computer chip shortage were planted last spring, when automakers and suppliers cut their production schedules as COVID clouded the outlook for car sales. The fallout figures to impact dealers across America and here in Northern Nevada for months to come.
With events and large-scale gatherings scheduled to return this summer, the Reno-Sparks region continues to see encouraging signs its meeting and convention venues will eventually begin filling up and boosting the economy this year and beyond.
"It’s definitely because we’re willing to diversify in our economy and we’re willing to lean in and step out of this idea of solely mining and hospitality," says GNCU's Jacquie Cheun regarding Northern Nevada's post-COVID economic outlook.
Three years after launching, Reno-based Saas startup FreeByrd has close to 100 clients and is generating $10,000 in monthly recurring revenue.
You could see the exact moment it hit Aaron Foster that his restaurant, Food + Drink in Reno’s Midtown, might not survive. It’s at the 1-minute, 5-second mark of a selfie video Foster posted to Instagram on March 13, 2020, the day the Food + Drink owner decided he couldn’t justify keeping his restaurant open amid the health risks posed by the coronavirus pandemic.
“Reno’s an attractive market for us because of the great growth opportunity,” said Steve Vitali, president of the company’s Nevada division.
While the pandemic was quick to silence cities during lockdowns last year, it propelled the snaps and rattles of skateboarding to grow louder across the country, including here in Northern Nevada.
After posting 34% YOY revenue growth in 2020, Kelly Brothers Painting is "busier than ever" this spring — a good and bad thing considering the business has roughly 40 fewer painters on staff due to ongoing recruitment challenges.
Dynepic’s DX-Platform technology enables the U.S. military and AR/VR vendors to join a common platform that powers immersive training courses with a single login and single learning dashboard.
“(Racism is) something that we face on a day-to-day basis, and we still see that at the restaurant," says Kurtis Tan, GM at Ijji Noodle House & Poke Don, one of 20 Asian-owned eateries taking part in the Common Thread Asian Noodle Tour in Reno-Sparks this month.
"If there’s one thing we change about the area, it would be to better market our fitness as a community to host large-scale events and national attractions."
