Jake's on the Lake Closing at Tahoe City Boatworks: What's Ahead

On Thursday, Oct. 29, the Tahoe City Farmers Market leaves Commons Beach and moves indoors to Boatworks Mall for the season. In August, the company that owns and runs that building filed for Chapter 11. Its longest-running tenant plans to close that same week. Next door, the old Safeway at the Lighthouse Center has been empty for a year.

Tahoe City's east end is losing its anchors this fall. At the same time, it's picking up more of the town's weekly routine. Every story below is part of that one shift.

Jake's on the Lake Is Finishing Its 48th and Final Season

Jake's on the Lake, at 780 N Lake Blvd inside Boatworks, reopened in June for what its managing partners called a final summer. The plan was to stay open through the end of October. The restaurant said that timeline could still change. As of the first week of October, no exact last night of service has been announced. The Oct. 1 local-business roundup from Love North Tahoe still lists end-of-October timing.

The economics came out in the open a year ago. In October 2025, managing partner Jeff Hill told the Sierra Sun that the restaurant made money in summer and lost money from November through May. That cycle got harder to justify as the lease neared its end. In July, Hill told Moonshine Ink that the landlord relationship and other outside factors had left no clear way to keep going. He also said Jake's would consider a deal from new owners if it was good enough.

"Should a path illuminate, we would walk it, but I just don't see what that would be."

Chef Ronnie Miranda, an Oakland native and Culinary Institute of America graduate, has run the kitchen this year. Hill described the menu as new influences that still read as Jake's. The Oct. 1 roundup lists happy hour every day from 5 to 6:30 p.m., plus $5 glasses of wine on Wednesdays. The restaurant's own homepage lists bar happy hour Sunday through Thursday, so call before you plan a Friday visit around it.

The Building the Market Is Moving Into

The farmers market's move indoors runs straight into the Boatworks story. The rest of that story explains why so much on the east end is on hold. Here it is in order:

1. February 2024. Placer County and TRPA open joint environmental review of a proposal covering the mall, the Inn at Boatworks and the neighboring El Dorado Savings Bank site. The plan calls for 79 hotel units, 29 condominiums, commercial space and a spa.
2. November 2025. Placer County says the application is still under review while the applicant works through engineering and design issues. Environmental review and public hearings come after that.
3. January 2026. Owner MJD Capital Partners defaults on its $14 million loan, and foreclosure begins.
4. April 2026. Placer County's planning director report still lists the Boatworks project under its pending entitlements.
5. Aug. 11, 2026. The day before a scheduled foreclosure auction, Boatworks at Tahoe LLC files for Chapter 11 reorganization in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of California. The company says the mall and the Inn at Boatworks will stay open while it seeks court approval of a plan.
6. Sept. 24, 2026. The court grants final orders on cash collateral and on a management agreement. It continues the status conference to Dec. 17.

MJD CEO Marie Murphy said in August that the company still sees a mixed-use redevelopment as the best way to revitalize the property. As of early October, no reorganization plan has been approved and no sale has been reported. No one has announced what will go into the Jake's space.

In late July, Moonshine Ink found the mall about half occupied. Tahoe Wine Collective, Tahoe Fit and Mountain Lotus Yoga were among the businesses still operating there. Tahoe Wine Collective runs Blind Flight Fridays at 5 p.m. These are curated flights of unlabeled wines, and walk-ins are welcome.

The Empty Grocery Next Door Now Falls Under a New State Law

The Lighthouse Center sits just past Boatworks. Its street-front tenant was Safeway, which moved to the other end of Tahoe City last fall. In July, Moonshine Ink reported that the building was for sale. Terms quoted by a local agent would bar any future grocery use. Placer County Supervisor Cindy Gustafson, who represents North Tahoe, wrote to Safeway in June about the vacancy. She later sent a letter supporting Assembly Bill 1857, the Grocery Store Access Act.

The bill passed the Senate 39 to 0 on Aug. 26 and the Assembly 76 to 0 on Aug. 27. The Governor signed it on Sept. 30 as Chapter 901, Statutes of 2026. The text of the law sets up a process for voiding a grocery-use restriction on a property where a grocery store used to operate. The restriction ends once an approved restrictive covenant modification document is recorded. Starting Jan. 1, 2027, it also bars new restrictions of this kind.

As of the first week of October, no sale, buyer or new tenant has been reported for the Lighthouse building. The law gives Tahoe City a new tool. The storefront is still empty.

October on the East End

While the buildings wait on courts and buyers, the October calendar is full, and much of it happens within a few blocks. The Tahoe City Downtown Association and the North Tahoe Chamber run Hauntober all month, with community events and specials at local businesses.

Karen Willcuts of Mountain Town Walking Tours leads the haunted walks, and donations support Downtown Association programs. As of Oct. 2, the Zombie Crawl listing still said the list of participating businesses was coming soon. Sierra Surf Club, where the walking tours start, runs happy hour Monday through Thursday from 3 to 5 p.m. It also has football specials on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Monday nights from 5 to 8 p.m.

One recent addition sits a short walk west. The Understory opened in June at 945 N Lake Blvd. The Sierra Sun called it the region's first bookstore since 2012. It's closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays. It's open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays and Thursday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays.

Up the Shore, Gar Woods Goes Dark Until December

The lakefront will lose a second familiar deck this month, though only for a while. Gar Woods Grill & Pier in Carnelian Bay closes Oct. 8 for two months. Owner Tom Turner plans to refinish the floors and replace older equipment, and the restaurant plans to reopen in December. The last Wet Woody Wednesday before the closure falls just ahead of that date. The announcement promises "the same Gar Woods you've loved for 38 years."

The two closures make a useful pair. Gar Woods is closing in the shoulder season to invest in its building and come back for winter. Jake's is closing in the same weeks, at the end of a lease, after saying for a year that November through May didn't pay. One owner is spending on its space. The other restaurant's space is tied up in a reorganization.

Thursdays, Starting Oct. 29

The last Commons Beach market is Thursday, Oct. 22. The indoor Fall Harvest Market at Boatworks Mall then runs Thursdays from Oct. 29 through Dec. 17, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. There's no market Thanksgiving week. Vendors sell organic produce, fruit, pastured meats, honey and food from food trucks. The final indoor market falls on Dec. 17. That's also the morning the bankruptcy court has set for its next Boatworks status conference, at 10:30 a.m.

If you're following the east end and wondering what these changes mean for a property you own or have your eye on, Frick n' Blazer Group is based in Tahoe City and keeps track of these stories as they develop. Schedule a Private Tahoe Consultation, and we'll walk you through what's on the record and what's still pending.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.