USA, NV: Schussboom Brewing Company to open its doors on June 2

Opening a business during a pandemic can have its challenges. Especially, a project the size of Schussboom Brewing Company. Crews broke ground on the old Shop n Go store in Reno last August and expanded it to 10,000 square feet. Now they are putting the finishing touches on the new brewery and restaurant, KTVN reported on May 17

"Just making sure everything is picture perfect and where we want it to be so that we're good and ready to open," Briana Wagner, President of Schussboom Brewing Company said. "I know people are super excited, as are we and I think our timing is wrapping up just perfectly with the vaccine rollout, with the mandates being lifted and with summer time."

The business will open its doors June 2 but its eight recipes of beers will not be available yet. The first batches will start brewing this Saturday and should be done in late June to mid-July.

"We will have great beers as well as craft cocktails and wine in our restaurant open, and then as our beers are done, then we'll start releasing those but we want to make sure that they're perfect," Wagner said.

That delay is one of several challenges created by the pandemic. Even construction was a question mark because of the possibility of workers catching COVID-19.

"We didn't know if construction was going to be shut down," Wagner said. "We didn't know if things were going to stop, if they were going to keep going and as you know, Reno has a very specific building time."

Lumber and metal for the building were not issues but there were some other challenges with the global supply chain.

"Having to order things months ahead of time or having in our plan that we've had for months and now finding out, no that's stuck in Europe and we're not going to get that," Wagner said. "Things that people would order normally would take them a couple weeks, they're seeing it six weeks out."

Wagner says hiring 40 employees has gone smoothly. It has 35 employees so far.

"Certain positions, people were really excited," Wagner said. "I think they're excited for the opportunity to work with a brand new business to be in a brewing situation. Also, knowing that we are a mom and pop business. We're not corporate."

She says hiring some of the kitchen staff has been the only difficult part of the hiring process.

"I think people are just kind of unsure of what it's going to look like," Wagner said. "What does their future look like? What does they're pay scale look like? What does a living wage look like?"

Schussboom is a German term for skiing straight downhill at a high speed. The restaurant and bar has a skiing theme but it is also incorporating some of the original building's history. It opened in 1962 as the Meadow Market before becoming Shop n Go. The restaurant will have an area set aside for people age 21 and older, as well as a place where children can play. The brewery is 6,500 square feet and there are three outdoor seating areas. Seating capacity will be about 280. Wagner says south Reno has been waiting for a business like this.

"Commerce hasn't kept up with the growth," Wagner said. "There's a lot of housing going in and there's just not a lot of options on this side of town."

The building is located just north of Damonte Ranch Parkway on South Virginia St. It's location required various easements and communication with several entities including NDOT, NV Energy and TMWA.

"During all of this, everybody's been working from home, so just even passing around files and getting information from one party to another was challenging," Wagner said.

Areas will be set aside for people age 21 and older, regular dining, children, as well as three outdoor dining areas, including rooftop seating. There will be seating capacity for about 280 people. The restaurant will serve foods like Artisan pizza, chicken wings and salads.

17 May, 2021