225 N Virginia Street – Reno, Nevada

Among the crowd of people who arrived in Reno to purchase newly platted town lots on May 9, 1868 were Harry and Mary Noyes along with their young son, Billy. The Noyes family bought the south half of Lot 9 in Block O on the west side of Virginia Street between Second and Commercial Row for $237.50.

According to town lore, the family slept on the bare lot that first night because the Lake House was completely full. They immediately got to work building a single-story wood structure. The family operated the Boston Chop House on Commercial Row, which they listed for sale in November of 1872. From that point, their focus was on the Virginia Street property where they ran an early version of a YMCA. This version dispensed spiritual refreshments at 25 cents a pop.

The Noyes’ building was destroyed in the fire which took out almost everything in the area bounded by Sierra and Center streets and Commercial Row and Second Street in November of 1873. Their loss in the building, saloon, and stock was estimated at $4,000 and they carried no insurance.

Work on the new Union Block began in March of 1874. This was a series of connected buildings with six storefronts. The Noyes’ Merchants Exchange Saloon, measuring approximately 18 x 37 feet with another large club room in the back, was located between McKissick and Horn’s meat market and Jake Becker’s saloon. A grand opening was held on May 29, 1874.

Noyes temporarily relocated to Panamint, California in late 1874. The saloon was leased to Charlie Chase during his absence.

Noyes returned to Reno in September of 1875, shortly after William Ralston’s Bank of California failed. He resumed management of his saloon in May of 1876.

Noyes built a lunch stand at the rear of the saloon, which was operated by Mary.

The family was from Massachusetts and their oyster pie was said to be especially tasty. An oyster stand was installed in September of 1877. It was removed in January of 1878 and replaced with three private dining rooms. While the work was in progress, a bullet went through the front window.

Harry Noyes died the following month and Mary reopened the restaurant on March 1, 1878. The saloon operation was discontinued with the bar fixtures being sold to a man who was setting up a saloon in Humboldt County.

The Noyes building was destroyed by fire again on March 2, 1879. Mary’s loss was estimated at $10,000 with only $3,000 covered by insurance. The single-story Union Block was rebuilt later that spring with stone walls along the backs and sides of the buildings and brick fronts. Noyes added a wood frame storehouse and bedroom to the back of her building, which was again leased to Charlie Chase for his saloon that May. Mary Noyes married stockman Alfred A Longley the following month.

Chase formed a partnership with Herman J Thyes in January of 1880.

A 30-foot addition was constructed behind the saloon in May of 1881 for billiards, reading, and card rooms followed by yet another card room in November of 1883. Thyes bought Chase’s interest in the partnership in April of 1884 and it was under Thyes’ ownership that the establishment became known as the Monarch Saloon.

Thyes teamed up with William R Chamberlain to open a liquor and cigar operation in the First National Bank building in April of 1887. The Monarch was listed for sale and sold to Joe Wilson and George Humphrey that September.

That partnership was dissolved in April of 1888 at which time Humphrey became a sole proprietor. The rear addition was expanded to two stories while the main building remained on one level. By 1899, the Noyes building had the saloon with a rooming house above the addition plus a barber shop and the chop house of Evans and Simpson.

The Monarch Saloon was purchased by Herman Cohn and George C Bryson on September 1, 1900.

A brick second story was added to the main building in the Spring of 1903. At that time, the main floor storefront was replaced and the entire interior was reconfigured. The barber shop was removed, leaving the space for the saloon and restaurant. Lee W Walstrom and W. H. Bryson bought the Monarch Lunch Counter that summer.

The restaurant changed hands a couple times with Bryson and Cohn purchasing it in August of 1904. Around that time, something peculiar happened to the north side of the building. Directly below the American flag hanging on the right side of this photo is a building with half-moon upper windows missing quite a few bricks from the second floor. Unfortunately, I don’t have an exact date for this photo but am guessing it is from July of 1904 because M. Clink’s tailor shop was located in that spot on the right from June of 1904 until January of 1905.

I haven’t been able to find any information about what happened to the Noyes building. It appears the meat market on the north side was rebuilt and there may have been a mishap during construction. If anyone knows for sure, please leave me a comment.

For some time, the Monarch advertised being the only saloon in Reno to serve Anheuser Busch products. The building is shown second from right around March of 1907 with a big Anheuser sign out front.

Brothers Chris and Pete Pedersen bought the cafe around 1911 when it only had three tables and eleven stools. Their other brother, John, began working at the Monarch as a waiter around 1913. Pete died in April of 1917 and from that point, the Pedersen Bros. partnership was comprised of Chris and John. Prohibition closed down the saloon, at which time, the Monarch Cafe and Lunch Counter was expanded into that space.

The Noyes building is shown here in the middle of the block around 1920. At that time, the Monarch Cafe sign had a lion perched on top of it. They also used various depictions of lions on menus and matchbook covers.

The Monarch closed at the end of 1923 for a complete remodel. At that time, the storefront was replaced and the interior was completely redone. The Pedersens reopened for business on January 19, 1924.

It appears the sign was also replaced. This image from around 1929 shows a much larger Monarch sign illuminated on the right.

There really was no way to miss it.

For several years, the Monarch Cafe provided food to Washoe County inmates under a contract with the county. The upstairs rooms were rented to various roomers and businesses including the Elite Sign Company. An establishment called the Oxford Club was briefly located in one of those rooms until it was raided by dry agents a couple times in 1931. The “soft drink club” was shut down for operating a common nuisance. Of course, the Monarch was among the first to resume serving beer when finally allowed in April of 1933.

Throughout the Great Depression, the Monarch managed to remain open 24 hours a day.

In May of 1946, the Pedersen brothers sold the Monarch Cafe to Manuel Gavallas for more than $100,000. Gavallas planned to spend around $25,000 remodeling the restaurant. The property was owned by Minnie D Noyes, widow of Billy Noyes, at that time.

In June of 1951, Gavallas applied to install slot machines in the newly renamed Fenmore Cafeteria. The completely remodeled eatery opened for business that July.

However, that rebranding didn’t stick and Gavallas reverted back to the Monarch Cafe name in early 1952.

Westside, Inc. bought the Monarch property from the estate of Minnie Noyes in March of 1956 with plans to build a new bar and casino. Key players in the project included Elmer “Baldy” West, Barney Einstoss, and Bradford Hewins. Work had already begun to prepare the Noyes building for demolition when the sale closed on April 25. The Monarch lease, which was in effect until August, was bought out as part of the deal. This new club would cover both the Noyes lot and the Paterson’s men’s store lot, which was also acquired at that time. Work began to remove the upper floor in the first part of May.

This photo was taken from Fulton Alley looking east toward Virginia Street.

Although the new building started out as a single-story casino with a basement, the reinforced concrete structure was designed with steel beams and other infrastructure to eventually support four additional floors. The facility also had a bar and coffee shop on the main floor. An employee lounge, maintenance area, and offices were located in the basement.

Reno’s Horseshoe Club opened on October 25, 1956 with entertainment by Don Thompson’s Dixieland Band. The table games and bar area is shown here with a horseshoe design in the carpet.

A significant remodeling project began in October of 1960, which added a second story and a classic Googie façade designed by Lockard and Casazza. The Horseshoe Club was also expanded into the neighboring Reno Jewelry Co. space. Owners reportedly spent more than $1 million on this project, which added about 2,800 square feet to the main floor. The second floor, accessed by an escalator, was to house a restaurant with seating for nearly 200. A cocktail lounge with live entertainment was located on the main floor. Amazingly, the club stayed open during construction.

In October of 1969, a remodeling permit was issued to the Horseshoe for $106,018. Advertising with this monstrosity began the following month. It gives the same vibes as the horns on Boss Hogg’s Cadillac.

In March of 1977, Dr. Tom Mullis and Jess Hinkle announced they had purchased the Horseshoe from Wally and Stuart Mason effective April 1. They planned an ambitious $1 million remodeling and expansion project. Mullis filed Chapter 11 Bankruptcy and the Horseshoe closed in January of 1980.

This pattern of opening and closing continued. Bob Cashell bought the club, cleaned it up, and reopened in May of 1989. However, Cashell became increasingly frustrated by the City’s failure to help downtown business owners increase foot traffic. He cited unhoused individuals with wine bottles vomiting in trash cans inside the casino and defecating in the alley as examples of conditions which tend to repel tourists. There was also an incident referred to as a “gang fight” outside the casino, which reportedly took police more than an hour to clear. Cashell closed the Horseshoe for good in September of 1995, stating the casino had never been profitable.

Horseshoe Jewelry & Loan took over the space in early 1997.

Lucky 7 Gift Shop occupied space in the north part of the building. The property was listed for sale in November of 2014 and finally sold in October of 2016. The new owner had plans for a new entertainment venue so the gift shop relocated right away and the pawn shop closed in early 2017.

However, nothing has really been successful in that location. It has been vacant off and on since the pawn shop closed. A “New Orleans bistro” called Masque occupied the north part of the building for maybe a year and a half. A mini golf bar and grill called Wolf Putt opened in October of 2023 but then announced on Instagram it had closed in February of 2024. According to the property listing on LoopNet, it is a “Turn-key restaurant/lounge with indoor mini-putt equipment in place.”

This is how the former site of the Monarch Cafe looks today:

The Noyes family owned that skinny piece of property on Virginia Street from 1868 until 1956 and that is no small feat. I think we underestimate the stability long-term ownership tends to create, with the exception of absentee corporate slumlords of course. I hope the current owner is able to get a good tenant. It’s absolutely bonkers how many of these vacant buildings exist in what should be a prime location.

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