New brewery; barbecue, sushi restaurants open in Incline Village

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. — Whether you like booze, barbecue or ‘bows (as in, rainbow rolls), three new businesses are offering something for varying palates.

Alibi Ale Works opened its much anticipated brewery and taproom on Dec. 13 on Enterprise Street in the old Napa Auto Parts building.

Alibi offers 10 taps, featuring a “wide selection of house-made beer” that will rotate as the months pass, said co-owner Kevin Drake, as well as soda and kombucha for nonalcoholic options.

“People are really grateful that we’ve opened a brewery in Incline … I hear it over and over again that this was so needed,” Drake said Wednesday. “In some ways, it’s a refuge from the sports bars in town, a casual atmosphere to hang out. It’s simple beer and simple conversation — what a good old-fashioned idea.”

The craft brewery is closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and open 5-10 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays; 3-10 p.m. Fridays; noon to 10 p.m. Saturdays; and noon to 8 p.m. Sundays.

Its beers reflect a balance among traditional styles like porter and saison, fresh interpretations of hop-forward beers, and innovative one-offs. Residents also can expect to see some barrel-aged and funky-sour beers emerging early in 2015.

“We’re definitely scaling up, and our goal is to have beer on tap at local watering holes sometime in February,” Drake said. “It’ll be just a handful of places to start, and it will expand as we can keep up.”

To learn more, visit alibialeworks.com or call 775-298-7001.

BARBECUE IN INCLINE

John Cheney’s new restaurant, Gus’ Open Pit Barbecue, opened Dec. 4 at the old La Casona location in the Raley’s shopping center.

Cheney, who also owns Big Water Grille near Diamond Peak, said it was a “tough start, but we worked out the kinks pretty quick.”

“So far, people are enjoying the food, although everybody’s favorite part of the entire place is the bar with the huge TV,” he said.

That huge TV is a 140-inch “video wall,” Cheney said, which includes four 70-inch screens that can play four games at once.

Aside from sports, the food’s pretty good there too, he said.

“We use a dry rub for everything. The meat’s grilled or smoked with dry rub, with barbecue sauce on the side. People appreciate that, because some like sauce, and others don’t,” Cheney said.

As for what’s best, Cheney said highlights include tri-tip, chicken — and the ribs.

“I get huge compliments, with people even comparing the ribs to the (Sparks Nugget) rib cook-off, which is huge … people are saying I should enter,” Cheney said.

The restaurant is open 4 p.m. to close Thursdays, Saturdays and Mondays; 11:30 a.m. to close Fridays and Sundays (until football season is over, then Sundays move to dinner-only); and is closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

To learn more, find Gus’ on Facebook or call 775-831-4487.

NEW SUSHI JOINT OPENS

About two weeks ago, Koi Sushi opened in the Christmas Tree Village at the spot formerly housed by Yoshimi Sushi.

It’s open Monday through Saturday, from noon to 9:30 p.m., and from 5-9:30 p.m. Sundays, and the restaurant does take-out orders.

Koi serves a variety of rolls, nigiri and other items, and has positive reviews so far, seeing a 4 out of 5 rating as of Wednesday, according to Yelp!

One Yelp! review, published Monday, praises the restaurant for its food and good service.

“Koi Sushi offers a welcome respite from the sports bars, sandwich places and other American-type of food in Incline Village,” it reads. “The all you can eat special is $29 dollars, which we thought was pretty decent, considering how each roll is made-to-order.”

To learn more, find Koi Sushi on Yelp!, or call 775-298-2091.

NEW VENTURE FOR OLD YOSHIMI

Speaking of Yoshimi, its former owner, Bryan Pavone, said he was in a meeting Wednesday to discuss future plans to open a sushi restaurant in Incline Village later this year.

“We are not reopening Yoshimi in town, but we are opening a new place in town,” he said. “We have yet to sign a lease, but hoping that happens pretty soon here. We’re definitely planning a new venture …focusing on sushi, with a few other things.”

The goal is to open in a unit within the Raley’s shopping center, Pavone said.

“When that will happen, we’re not sure, but a couple to a few months, optimistically,” he said. “But we are absolutely hoping to open in the Raley’s center, and are looking forward to being neighbors with the great businesses there.”

Yoshimi Sushi closed its doors in the Christmas Tree center on Aug. 15, 2014, after serving the community Japanese cuisine for nearly 15 years.

Pavone previously said he shut down after Yoshimi’s lease agreement expired in February and he was unable to sign a new one, due to disagreements with the shopping center’s owner, Radomir Vukodin.

On Wednesday, Pavone said his new venture won’t be called Yoshimi, and he’s working on a new name.

“I’m so pumped about it — the product and the experience is going to surpass anything we were able to provide previously,” he said.