Restaurant, brewery on tap in Northwest

     By Tina Allen
     View staff writer
      It's been a plan nearly two years in the making, but the foundation is in place for Las Vegas' first independent micro-brewery located outside of a casino or chain restaurant environment.
      Construction of Tenaya Creek Restaurant & Brewery, 3101 N. Tenaya Way, is scheduled to be complete in the latter part of October.
      "We've always wanted to do something together as a family," said Dan Etter, co-owner of the business and recent business management graduate of the University of Utah. "And it all came together."
      Etter said his sister Christina Roush, who is a local real estate broker, found the land near the southwest corner of Cheyenne Avenue and Tenaya Way and their father, Richard Etter, former CEO of Bank of America Nevada, purchased it. Dan Etter's brother Tim, who received a degree in microbiology and fermentation from the University of California, Davis, will be the brewer.
      Lee Lardner, hired as the general manager, said: "I really believe there's a great think tank of people involved in the project who have different areas of expertise that will really help us be successful."
      Lardner, who moved to Las Vegas from Colorado in 1990, has managed local restaurants, including Applebee's and the California Pizza Kitchen in the Mirage and Golden Nugget.
      The 75,000-square-foot restaurant and brewery, designed by JMA Architects and contracted by Martin-Harris, will provide an up-close look at the brewing process through glass windows.
      "(The brewing equipment) is a very unique design," Lardner said. "The family has purchased the cutting edge of microbiology and brewing equipment. (Tim Etter) has systems in place that are there just to guarantee just the freshness of his beer and never compromise the quality of his brewing process. Once it's set up it will be so wonderful to see how the beer starts from the tiny little seeds and ends up in the glass."
      Five or six different beers will be available each day, in addition to homemade root beer. Guests also will be able to purchase 64-ounce mugs of the beverages to go.
      And for those with an appetite, the menu includes gourmet pizzas, pastas, ribs, unique salads on beds of foccacia bread, grilled Portobelo sandwiches, corned buffalo, buffalo burgers and fresh fish from Hawaii. The fare was created by chef Chuck Becker early this year.
      Becker, who earned his degree in hotel management at UNLV, has cooked for the likes of Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, President Bush and the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the United States Air Force. He began cooking at age 18 at the Golden Nugget, and trained under master chef Gustav Mauler.
      "To have that opportunity to really be tutored under somebody like that is a chance in a lifetime," said Becker, adding there are very few master chefs in the world.
      After college, he continued his career with Mirage Resorts Inc., opening both the Mirage and Buccaneer Bay in Treasure Island. Last January he accepted the position with Tenaya Creek.
      "To me, a chef's responsibility or a restaurateur's responsibility is to educate the public and introduce them to new things," Becker said. "I think that adventure in dining is needed. If I haven't tried it, then I want to see it. I want to educate myself, too. I think that's my job is to stay up with what this world has to offer."
      And that's exactly what he plans to do with the diverse menu, which combines many of the ethnic influences brought to America.
      "I think the combination of all those things is what Americans eat, it's not just an ethnic kind of cuisine," he said.
      Those interested in the brewery can call 362-7335.