The Santa Fe Hotel Basque restaurant reopened in downtown Reno after a two-year hiatus and recent renovation. The original format of the building remains the same, but the interior received much-needed upgrades to furniture, ADA compliance and the kitchen.

The Basque hotel and restaurant survived the construction of Harrah’s Casino a generation ago when the owners refused to sell, forcing the casino to build around them. Now, new owner Dennis Bank has fixed up the property and is serving Basque dinners and the venerable Picon punch once again.

Banks rebuilt the floors, kitchen, updated furniture, added an air conditioning system, painted the walls, found Basque memorabilia in the basement to decorate the walls with and added a new mural of a Basque city in Europe.

The Basque people come from a small country between France and Europe. They immigrated to the United States in the 19th century during the gold rush of California and silver rush in Nevada. Unfortunately, they were late to the game, and instead set up sheepherding ranches and opened boarding houses like the Santa Fe all over the western US.

Today, the Santa Fe Hotel is only one of two remaining Basque hotel and restaurants left in Reno. The other, Louis’ Basque Corner, is only a few blocks away also in downtown Reno. Similarly styled restaurant-boarding houses still exist in other parts of rural Nevada, California and Idaho.

For the uninitiated, Basque restaurants server large family-sized country-style meals. Customers can order entrees – usually steak, lamb or salmon-centric dishes – separately or in combination with a “family-style dinner.”

Those family-style dinners, which we recommend you only order for groups of five to 20, include entrees plus bowls of french fries, beans, salad, oxtail and soup for everyone to share.

The Bascos do not let people leave hungry.

Banks added an expanded wine, beer and cocktail collection to Santa Fe Hotel, but the bar will still offer classics like kalimotxos, which is basically sweet red wine with cola, and Picon Punches.

The Picon punch is a Nevada favorite (it almost became the official drink of the state), made with a bitter-orange flavored liqueur, grenadine, soda water (sometimes) and brandy.

They’re both an acquired taste.

The Santa Fe opens at 4:30 p.m. for dinner on 235 Lake Street on Lake and Second streets, tucked into the back folds of Harrah’s Hotel and Casino.