1922–2022: Little Waldorf
Food, drinks, events — Reno would not be the same without the iconic Little Waldorf. As a restaurant during the day and a college bar during the night it is very popular amongst students and locals. This year the establishment celebrates its 100-year anniversary with many events throughout the summer.
100 years of history
More than 100 years ago, in 1920 to be exact, the Meyer brothers opened the Waldorf next to the Truckee River. The younger one quickly wanted to build something of his own and opened the Little Waldorf only two years later where the famous El Dorado stands now.
The parallels with the German Dassler brothers are fascinating. They owned a small shoe factory in Germany in 1920, had a dispute and while the older one led the Adidas brand to success, the younger one founded Puma on his own.
But back to the Little Waldorf: After three moves, the restaurant found its current location close to the university in 1983. Many stories revolve around whether the brothers of the Waldorfs are related to the Waldorf Astoria, a famous hotel chain — but it is marketing.
Toby Tamagni, the general manager, says that today no one knows the exact opening date, but it was propably in mid-June 1922. To celebrate this memorable 100th anniversary, there will be many events from June to September.
The company for which Toby works, owns over 64 college bars from Nebraska down to San Diego. When it took over the Little Waldorf in 2006 the restaurant looked completely different.
“Everything was black: the bar, the walls, the ceiling. Before, it was more like a gaming establishment, not a college one” Toby says. He started redecorating, hanging up a lot of different things on the ceiling and now, looking up never gets boring. Customers can find everyting imaginable up there, from kayaks to moose heads and an old post office sled.
Tough Times
Toby shortly explains how though the pandemic was on them. Like other restaurants, they weren’t allowed to open for month and were only able to offer curbside service with to-go food and cocktails.
Luckily, they could keep every single employee during those hard times and the few who left did so by their own decision. Additionally, the Little Waldorf got a small PPP-loan from the government; however, it didn’t qualify to get it for free and has to split it with its sister stores.
Food and Drinks
All produce is sourced as locally as possible and Toby makes sure to visit every farm they get their protein from. Pork from Modesto, chicken from Salinas and beef from the American Almond Beef farm, owned by a person Toby grew up with. He explains: “We live by the motto: ‘Buy the best ingredients you can get, so you don’t need the best cooks’. All the dishes are typical bar food, but a notch up.”
The signature dish of the Little Waldorf is definitely their Jiffy Burger: a bacon burger with peanut butter. “Even my mum loves it, and she was VERY skeptical before she tried it. It is kind of delicious!”, says Toby.
In addition, the Little Waldorf offers a grand variety of drinks, like 14 different long island flavors. The best-selling amongst them is the Scooby Snack: the cocktail with coconut rum and pineapple juice it is like a baby colada. The Little Waldorf’s happy hour is from 4 to 7 PM daily and their weekly specials include Taco-Tuesday and Grilled-Rib-Eye-Wednesday.
Events
Apart from having pool tables and foosball, the Little Waldorf hosts events all week. Trivia Night is on Mondays and Wednesdays, followed by Trike Races on Wednesdays.
Their iconic Thirsty Thursday is popular amongst students: the whole restaurant turns into a club. The same happens on Saturdays, just without the “thirsty” in the name.
Country lovers on the other hand should come on a Friday night, when two DJs entertain the crowd. One of them is Toby who says it is his “weekly fun night.” Beginners can participate in the line dance lessons in the back.
Additionally, pizza chefs from around town are going to show off their skills for charity on May 1st and 4th. All sales go towards abused women and children and the Little Waldorf won’t take a dime out of it.
100 years and going
Undoubtedly, the business is unique; not only because of its long history. Toby runs the Little Waldorf like a bar he would have wanted while he was in college. Therefore, he does a lot for the athletic department, as well as the sororities and fraternities at UNR.
Overall, Toby tries to involve the Little Waldorf in the student’s lives as much as he can. In 2006, his first year managing the Little Waldorf, he opened the place at 6AM for some of his employees on graduation day. One year later, 500 people were waiting in line to get inside for breakfast and champagne. It has become a tradition ever since and everyone graduating in mid-May, as well as their families and friends, are welcome to stop by before the graduation ceremony.
