The man who opened the first McDonald's restaurant in the Tahoe area in March1974, owner Al Nalley, is retiring.
Although Al and his wife, Kathleen, said they have enjoyed living in Tahoe for 26 years, they are relocating to Woodland Park, Colo.
The Nalleys chose Colorado because, "one, I'm retiring, and two, my wife has been classified with multiple chemical sensitivities which, with the increased pollution from Sacramento, makes this area not as pristine as it used to be. The prescribed burns in the area also give her trouble. I want to retire in a place where my wife can be healthy and happy."
As the first person to bring the golden arches to Tahoe, Nalley also had one of the first McDonald's in the San Francisco region to introduce the breakfast and hostess program. In 1983 he received approval to test the double-booth drive-thru at his store, where customers pay at one window and pick up their food at the next. A similar concept became a first again for Nalley when in 1999 he introduced the first double-booth walk-thru in the country at the Ski Run location. His Ski Run store was also the first business to be relocated due to redevelopment in 1995.
Nalley sold his Ski Run Boulevard restaurant and the one at the "Y" to Bob Humason of Texas. Having owned five McDonald's franchises in the Texas area, Humason wanted to relocate his family to Lake Tahoe and still remain in the business.
In addition to his first store in South Lake Tahoe, Nalley opened his second store in Tahoe City in August of 1977. Shortly thereafter, he opened the "Y" franchise in December of that same year.
In 1983 Nalley started a franchise in Minden and closed it when he started another restaurant in Bill's Casino at Stateline in 1987. It was the first McDonald's worldwide to be placed in a gambling institution. Sales exceeded $22,000 on the first New Year's Eve the restaurant was in Bill's.
Upon the expiration of a 10-year lease at Bill's, the McDonald's was closed at that location.
Over the years, each store has been recognized with a decor award for which Nalley credits his wife, who has been the principal designer of both the interior and exterior for the past 15 years. The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency even honored Nalley 's Ski Run location as the best new commercial construction at Lake Tahoe in 1997.
"South Lake Tahoe has given much more to me than I have to it," Nalley said. "I'm really going to miss it."
As a stockbroker in Sacramento, Nalley was introduced to the McDonald's franchise by some of his clients who owned their own stores. When he decided to open his franchise in South Lake Tahoe, some people thought he would never make it, primarily due to the seasonality of the area and partly due to the high gas prices of the 1970s. Tourists wouldn't drive to Tahoe because gas was too expensive, he remembered. But Nalley had a feeling things would change.
"I could have sold anything but I wanted to be involved with the best there was in the industry and I wanted to be my own boss," he said.
His feeling was right. In addition to running a thriving hamburger business, Nalley also remained active in the community. From being the president of the South Lake Tahoe Chamber of Commerce, to chairman on the Douglas County School Board and chairman of the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority to name a few, Nalley has played a key role in the development of the community.
"I have enjoyed the small-town atmosphere," he said. "Everywhere I go, I run into people I know. I think I have done every board in town."
Nalley is looking forward to dedicating his community efforts full time in Colorado, as well.
"Life has been good to me and it's time I give back to the community," he said. "The slant of my efforts will be from my strong Christian background. Wherever I go, I will always love Tahoe and will miss it a lot."
