"We understand what it means to take over a legendary brand," Mark Estee told the Sierra Sun this fall. "You don't want to change everything, but you want to change the things that need to be changed."
Estee was talking about Sunnyside Restaurant & Lodge. The same words would fit the strip of asphalt running past its front door. The Sunnyside property shuts down on Oct. 5 for renovations and plans to reopen April 1, 2027. Meanwhile, the Tahoe City Public Utility District is rebuilding the West Shore Trail between 64 Acres and Sunnyside, and its target finish date for that section is Oct. 31, 2026.
The two calendars are offset by only a few weeks. If both projects hold to schedule, the rebuilt 1.4 miles south of Tahoe City finish just after Sunnyside closes, so all winter the new trail ends at a closed restaurant. The first chance to use both together comes in April.
What Changes at Sunnyside After 39 Years
T S Restaurants has run both the Sunnyside restaurant and the hotel since 1987. The company's Tahoe City history started in 1978 with Jake's on the Lake. Its own website calls 2026 "our last summer" and says the sunsets and the deck "aren't going anywhere." According to T S CEO Jackie Reed, the decision was made together with the property owner, Tahoe Sunnyside Partners. "It felt time to return Sunnyside to a more local operator," she told Moonshine Ink.
Ownership stays the same. The property's FAQ says Local Food Group takes over the restaurant. The owners keep running the marina and take on the lodge. Local Food Group is based in Reno and operates seven restaurants in Nevada, including all four Great Basin locations. Estee worked here before. He was executive chef at the Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe's Lone Eagle Grille and founded both Burger Me and Moody's, and he says he is excited to be back at the lake after more than 25 years.
The Sierra Sun puts the renovation at $5 million. Here is how the changes break down:
| Part of Sunnyside | What happens over the winter |
|---|---|
| Restaurant and bar | Kitchen, dining room and lodge remodel, and the bar moves to a new spot |
| Kitchen | Major equipment upgrades and a redesigned workflow |
| Private dining | Expanded for weddings, celebrations and group gatherings |
| Hotel rooms | All 23 rooms get new paint, carpet and furniture, with no new construction |
| Marina and waterfront | Improvements planned, and the marina stays with the owners |
| Menu | Fried zucchini stays, and a new dessert replaces the Hula Pie |
The Hula Pie has to go because T S Restaurants holds the trademark. Estee says he plans to create a dessert worthy of becoming a new tradition. Tahoe Sunnyside Partners managing partner Mike Dumke described the new menu as a fresh take that keeps the focus on American fare, seafood and burgers and adds some smoked dishes. Local Food Group offered to rehire Sunnyside employees and had more than 100 sign-ups. Staff come back in March, ahead of the April opening.
The Trail Out Front Is Running Close to the Wire
On the path to Sunnyside, the district's contractor, Baldoni Construction, is finishing its season. The project covers about 51,000 square feet of trail, repaved and widened to nine feet where the terrain allows. Crews are adding signage, striping, railings, and manually activated flashing lights at the Granlibakken Road crossing. The district puts the cost at $4 million. Roughly 80% of the section is being ground up and repaved, and the original trail dates to the 1970s.
The board's own paperwork shows how tight the schedule is. Progress pay estimate No. 5 was approved Sept. 18. It reported 66% of the contract work done and 71% of contract time used under the contract's second milestone, which works out to 147 of 207 days. The district's Sept. 14 update called this the "final stretch for the season." Work was focused from the Highway 89 crossing south to Sequoia Avenue. The September engineering report said construction would continue through October. It also described a temporary crossing at Sequoia Avenue that sends trail users through the neighborhood.
As of early October, the district had not announced that the section was finished. Its trail page still lists closures Monday through Thursday between Sunnyside and Tahoe City, with a detour on neighborhood streets including Sequoia Avenue. Until the district posts a reopening notice, plan weekday rides around that detour. Oct. 31 is still a target, not a confirmed date.
Three Seasons of Rebuilding, Then a Pause
This section is the third phase of a program that grew out of a 2023 study of the district's 23-mile trail network. The phases so far:
- 2024: The North Shore Trail was rebuilt for $3.2 million, timed to line up with a Caltrans Highway 28 project.
- 2025: 2.4 miles from Sunnyside to Blackwood Creek were rebuilt for $4.8 million. The district announced that section finished on Oct. 13, 2025.
- 2026: The 1.4 miles from 64 Acres to Sunnyside, the section now wrapping up.
Once this section is done, the trail will have fresh pavement from 64 Acres to Blackwood Creek. The next phases are further off. The district's November 2024 capital schedule shows no trail budget for 2027. It lists the Idlewild Way to McKinney Drive section for 2028 and McKinney Drive to Sugar Pine Point State Park for 2029. That schedule is nearly two years old, and the district has not published a newer one. Even so, it shows that construction near Tahoe City is likely finished for a while once this October's work wraps up.
What the Corridor Looks Like This Winter
With Sunnyside closed, the restaurant at the south end of the rebuilt trail will be dark until April. Other seasonal closings along the trail and nearby:
- William Kent Campground: The campground and the William Kent beach restrooms close Oct. 12. The Forest Service says national forest land stays open year-round, but winter parking is limited and water, restrooms and trash service stop.
- Truckee River Rafting: The outfitter that runs trips from Tahoe City down to River Ranch is closed for the 2026 season and plans to return in 2027.
- Gatekeeper's Museum Nature Trail: The free trail on the museum grounds at the Lake Tahoe dam is open through October.
- Tahoe City Kayak: The North Lake Boulevard shop takes repair appointments through Oct. 31, the end of its season.
The trail itself stays partly open in winter. The district clears snow from 16 of its 23 trail miles, usually starting once three inches have fallen, in the priority order shown on its snow-removal map. Cleared sections still depend on staffing and conditions, so check the map before heading out.
Things also move indoors in town. The Tahoe City Farmers Market at Commons Beach runs through Oct. 22. After that it becomes the Fall Harvest Market inside Boatworks Mall, held Thursdays from Oct. 29 through Dec. 17, with no market on Thanksgiving. TCPUD's Harvest Fest takes over the Tahoe City Community Center on Oct. 17 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with free admission. TART's fall schedule runs through Dec. 11, and TART Connect on-demand service runs until 10 p.m.
April Is When It All Opens
Put the dates side by side and April is the first month when the finished trail and the reopened restaurant are both available. Sunnyside staff return in March. The restaurant plans to reopen April 1 with a bigger kitchen, a relocated bar and refreshed rooms upstairs. By then, the West Shore Trail should have its new pavement and nine-foot width from 64 Acres to Sunnyside and beyond to Blackwood Creek, assuming this fall's work wraps up on schedule. The first ride from Tahoe City to Sunnyside on the finished trail, ending with lunch on the new deck, looks like an April outing.
If you own a home along the West Shore Trail and want to know how a finished trail and a reopened Sunnyside could affect a spring sale or purchase, The Brassie Group is happy to walk through the timing with you. Let's talk about your highest possible return.
