The meticulously rebuilt interior of Savoie in Tahoe City, a year-round French chalet blending Michelin-starred heritage with rustic alpine charm. | Photo: Savoie
A nearly century-old piece of Lake Tahoe history has undergone a complete architectural and culinary metamorphosis with the official July 1, 2026, debut of Savoie. As reported by SF Gate, the newly unveiled 7,800-square-foot restaurant stands on the storied Tahoe City property once occupied by the iconic Pfeifer House. The site’s eclectic 90-year timeline stretches back to a 1935 cabin residence that doubled as a gambling den and brothel, evolved into the Lake Inn by 1940, and eventually became a legendary Swiss-German après-ski hub that served as the unofficial European headquarters during the 1960 Winter Olympics. After the original establishment shuttered in 2019 following the passing of longtime owner Franz Fassbender, the property faced an uncertain future until it caught the eye of the late Maureen Sullivan, a devoted patron who purchased the site with a vision of historic resurrection.
Bringing that vision to life required a herculean, seven-year reconstruction effort led by Maureen’s stepson, Mark Sullivan, and his wife, Alison. The Bay Area culinary veterans — boasting two decades of Michelin-starred experience, including Woodside’s Village Pub — sold their San Francisco home during the pandemic to commit fully to the mountain project. SF Gate notes that the undertaking quickly evolved into a comprehensive rebuild from the bedrock up. When construction crews initially broke ground in the basement, they discovered that the failing structure was quite literally resting on a subterranean network of raw tree trunks and loose branches. The extensive structural remediation forced the family to blow past their original 2022 opening target, utilizing the extended timeline to meticulously preserve the building’s historic soul while crafting a modern, 118-seat European-style chalet.
Savoie’s world-class dishes highlight refined, high-altitude village cuisine. | Photo: Savoie
The resulting interior serves as a visual love letter to both old Tahoe and the European Alps, cleverly weaving historic artifacts with contemporary design. The Sullivans intentionally retained the property’s signature taxidermied moose as an homage to the Fassbender era, and the cocktail program even features a dedicated tribute to former owners Franz and Ute. The expansive layout features towering exposed wooden beams, intimate dining nooks, and cozy corner booths wrapped in forest-green leather centered around a dramatic four-sided bar and open kitchen. A spiral staircase descends to a private, stone-walled cellar room designed for intimate gatherings. Adding a deeply personal touch to the ambiance, the family commissioned an artist family member to travel directly to France to paint the whimsical alpine landscape murals that adorn the dining room walls.
Savoie’s culinary identity focuses entirely on the vast historical geography of the ancient alpine province of Savoie, a region whose footprint once spanned across modern-day France, Switzerland, and deep into Italy. According to the chefs’ interview with SF Gate, this expansive historical framework provides the kitchen with immense gastronomic freedom. The menu translates this high-altitude heritage through refined comfort dishes, ranging from airy gougères and oeufs mayonnaise to a decadent tartiflette Savoyard — a bubbling casserole rich with melted cheese, caramelized onions, and potatoes. Guests can also sample Wagyu beef sliders layered with nutty Comté cheese on traditional épogne flatbread, alongside crispy pommes rosti accented with crème fraiche and golden Ossetra caviar.
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This meticulous blend of heritage and technique has already caught the attention of national critics, with Food & Wine naming Savoie one of the summer’s most anticipated restaurant openings. The venue enters the market at a pivotal moment, joining a sophisticated modern wave of fine dining establishments like Trokay, Smoke Door, and Sylva that are actively shifting the Tahoe Basin’s reputation into a bonafide culinary destination. For Mark Sullivan, whose career ironically came full circle after starting as the executive chef at Olympic Valley’s PlumpJack in the 1990s, the restaurant represents a permanent embrace of the region. By modernizing a legendary mountain refuge without erasing its colorful past, the Sullivan family has successfully anchored a new era of alpine hospitality on the shores of Lake Tahoe.
Vibrant craft cocktails are prepared at Savoie’s expansive, four-sided central bar, where the sophisticated beverage program pays explicit homage to local history with signature drinks named after the building’s legendary past owners, Franz and Ute. | Photo: Savoie
Dining and Cooking