Reno - S. Virginia Street & S. Kietzke Lane
View Reno - South Virginia and South Kietzke in a larger map
Trade your sanity on the streets for Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. It's the busiest area in the region.
US-395 Exits #62 and #63, South Virginia Street, South Kietzke Lane, and South McCarran Blvd.
This area is a good example of how to confuse locals and visitors alike. This two-square mile area is awash in suburban shopping potential while, as noticeable with the freeway on and offramps here, getting and leaving here can be a bit confusing.
Decades ago when the city planners mapped out and built the US-395 interchanges here, they made three exits for southbound travelers, and only one exit to this area for northbound travelers (at Neil Road).
So if you're interested in shopping here but are new to the area, please read closely the following directions. Otherwise, scroll down to see what the area has to offer.
NORTHBOUND on US-395, South Virginia
If you are traveling northbound on US-395, there is only one exit to access these vast lands of shopping. Take the Neil Road exit #62, turn right, going east one block to South Virginia. At the right part of this intersection is Home Depot. Turn right on South Virginia to get to Target, Sierra Trading Post, and a Quizno's. If you continue south, you will eventually come to the South Virginia Exit #62, South Meadows, and then Damonte Ranch hubs.
Back at the intersection of Neil Road and South Virginia, on the left is Whole Foods Market for a huge variety of healthy foods and playa merchandize. Moreover, they will be ready to take your recyclables as well as your garbage off your hands – see below for all the details.
Northwards up Virginia Street you will find plenty of shopping and fast-food possibilities deep on all sides, some of which may attract your fancy. A navigator comes in handy here, giving them the opportunity to note what's lining the road while the driver can focus on the traffic in this busy area. Traffic often jams up around here, so please be careful! Some of the more notable burner hot spots are still a little further on, so hang on! You will soon run into Reno's largest intersection, South McCarran and South Virginia. At 8-14 lanes to both streets, make sure you know where you want to go ahead of time! Here are two turns you can take from here to some burner hot spots.
South McCarran
Turning right from South Virginia onto South McCarran, going east, you will find Smithridge Shopping Plaza immediately to your left, home of Trader Joe's, Pep Boys, Toys 'R Us, Woo Chan Japanese and Sushi, Beads Etc, and CVS/Pharmacy. Parking is tight, so you may have to park toward the middle of the lot and hoof it toward whatever businesses are calling your name, especially if you are driving a large pirate ship (see below for details).
If you find yourself in need of a reputable auto shop, Mike's Automotive Perfection is in the area and can be found by continuing east on South McCarran about a mile, then turning right on Longley Lane. Call them for directions and an appointment for your serious car repair needs (see below).
Further east along South McCarran, down about 2 miles you will find Buckbean Brewing Company, a favorite local brewer with great beer in 16 oz cans!
South Kietzke
From the intersection of South Virginia and South McCarran, west on McCarran (a left turn if you were driving north on Virginia) will bring you under the freeway and up a hill, covering about a quarter mile between Virginia and Kietzke.
At the top of the hill, across Kietzke from here on your left is Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse, a giant hardware and general building-supplies store with friendly staff and well-stocked shelves. Lowe's has been very good to burners for years (see below for details).
If you are looking for groceries or sporting goods, turn right on Kietzke from McCarran. At the next light (Redfield Parkway) turn left. Here you will find Save Mart, Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, and Sports Authority (see below).
SOUTHBOUND on US-395, South Kietzke
If you're traveling southbound on US-395, you have three exits to choose from, but there's only one that you really need. The first exit for the area is #63, South Virginia and Kietzke Lane.
NOTE that this offramp splits in two, each delivering travelers to either of these big streets.
Following the Kietzke fork of the exit (the left lane of the offramp) takes you to Save Mart, Sports Authority, WalMart, Sam's Club, and Sports Authority.
If you turn left from the exit onto Kietzke, you will soon come to South McCarran, and there you will see Lowe’s Home Improvement on the right, caretaker of many-a-Burner over the years (see below for details to all these listings).
South McCarran
If you take the South Virginia fork at exit #63 (the right lane), you'll probably want to turn left at the bottom of the offramp. The first light will be the South Virginia and South McCarran intersection. Taking a left on McCarran will place you with the Smithridge Shopping Plaza on your left — home to Trader Joe's among other things. Further down South Virginia are notably Whole Foods Market and Home Depot (see below).
Now, how do you get out of this area? Aren't there any onramps for the freeway that arches over everything? Read on for more info on getting back on track for going home!
Getting back on US-395 Northbound
You've got two choices to get back on 395 northbound, which will eventually get you to I-80 and BRC. There's a northbound ramp at South McCarran and Virginia, next to Chili's at the Smithridge Shopping Plaza. Another choice (unless you're already heading north on Virginia) is on Neil Road, down by the Whole Foods.
Getting back on US-395 Southbound
There is only one onramp from this area to get back on US-395 southbound. You'll need to take either Virginia Street or Kietzke Lane south until you reach Neil Road. From Virginia, turn right, from Kietzke, turn left. The onramp is a block ahead from either direction.
Groceries & Merchandise
Whole Foods Market
6139 South Virginia Street – 775-852-8023 – map
Open 8am-9pm daily. A very popular place among burners, Whole Foods is the largest healthy food store in the region, with a HUGE variety of high-quality foods, wine, beer, and spirits, and body products. They also have a section of fun playa-fashionable clothing — hats, vests, shirts, pants, dresses, coats, etc — and accessories, such as ready-to-go el-wire kits, produced locally for life on the playa. And of course they will have plenty of bulk water in 2.5 and 5 gallon sizes on the side.
And, finally, a most wonderful thing for last, Whole Foods will again be providing free recycling service as part of the Reno-Sparks-Wadsworth Recycling Project in support of Burning Man. Acceptable recyclables include: Aluminum, tin, steel, glass, plastics (SPI 1,2,3,4,& 5), household batteries, cardboard, paper, bicycles, household batteries, and non-perishable food and water are all welcome. Moreover, garbage deposit will be available to recyclers at the rate of $3 per 35-gallon standard trash bag. Proceeds raised from this recycling initiative will be donated to support new local Black Rock Solar installations. These services are available 24 hours from August 26 through September 7 — all you have to do is drive in, and please have your recyclables as clean as possible and sorted before depositing, with everything going into the appropriate containers.
Trader Joe's
5035 South McCarran Blvd – 775-826-1621 – map
Open 8am-10pm daily. In the Smithridge Shopping Plaza, a place to maneuver carefully for parking large spacecruisers, but heck, the legend of Trader Joe’s is well worth it! A VERY hot spot among local and world burners for great and novel foods, drinks, and booze ideal for playa life, …and at great prices!
Save Mart Supermarket
4995 Kietzke Lane – 775-827-5350 / 775-825-3322 – map
Open 6am-1am. This Save Mart has seen a steadily increasing stream of Burner business for some time, and plans for our numbers by ordering many burner-novelty items and large quantities of (2.5 and 5 gallon) bulk water in August. Dry ice, bulk water, organic produce, camping needs, el-wire kits, sushi are just some of the many items you can find here.
WalMart Supercenter
4855 Kietzke Lane – 775-829-8088 / 775-829-4413 – map
Open 24/7, no dry ice.
CVS/Pharmacy
5019 South McCarran Blvd – 775-826-0818 – map
Open Mon-Sat 7am-10pm, Sun 8am-8pm. Camping supplies, pharmacy.
Big Lots
5017 South McCarran Blvd – 775-826-5565 – map
Open Mon-Sat 9am-9pm, Sun 10am-7pm. Sometimes it's aluminum foil or zip-closure bags, sometimes it's trash bags or shampoo or haircolor, but there's always something to be found for cheap at this discount variety store. No telling what they'll have on the shelves compared to your last visit.
Buckbean Brewing Company
1155 South Rock Blvd – 775-857-4444 – map
Open Mon-Thur 11am-6pm, Fri-Sat 11am-7pm. Great beer that comes in 16oz. cans – which means that your beer will be far less affected by sunlight, as well as the fact that cans are far easier to transport and recycle. Beer also comes in 5-gallon and regular-size kegs. Free tasting at the brewery. Highly recommended that you pre-order and make arrangements well-ahead for pickup at the brewery. Check out the link above.
Random Curiosities
Goodwill Thrift Store
6407 South Virginia Street – 775-853-7606 – map
Open Mon-Sat 9am-8pm, Sun 11am-6pm. Fair collection of women's and men's recycled clothing.
Beads Etc
5025 South McCarran Blvd – 775-826-0777 – map
Open daily 10am-8pm. This is THE PLACE to load up on beads and other gems for making and gifting jewelry.
Toys R Us
5000 Smithridge Drive – 775-827-8697 – map
Open Mon-Sat 10am-9pm, Sun 10am-7pm.
Hardware/Camping
Sports Authority
4813 Kietzke Lane – 775-828-1234 – map
Open Mon-Sat 9am-9pm, Sun 10am-7pm.
Lowe's Home Improvement
5075 Kietzke Lane – 775-824-4750 – map
Open Mon-Sat 6am-10pm, Sun 8am-8pm. A bit larger than Home Depot, but just as friendly to burners, carrying all the basic building supplies for your shade or camp, flashlights, batteries, rebar, and other goods you might want.
Home Depot
6590 South Virginia Street – 775-851-9600 – map
Open Mon-Sat 6am-10pm, Sun 7am-8pm. This Home Depot is popular among burners, stocked with all the basic building supplies for your shade or camp, flashlights, batteries, rebar, and other goods you might want.
Big 5 Sporting Goods
4986 South Virginia Street – 775-825-2322 – map
Open Mon-Sat 10am-9pm, Sun 10am-7pm.
Restaurants
Whole Foods Market
6139 South Virginia Street – 775-852-8023 – map
Open 8am-9pm daily. Lots of variety and quality, cafeteria-style-served food, and plenty of vegetarian and non-vegetarian options.
Bangkok Cuisine
5851 South Virginia Street – 775-284-3802 – map
Open Mon-Sat 11am-10pm, closed Sundays. Excellent Thai Cuisine with plenty of vegan/vegetarian options. Best to make reservations.
Einstein Brothers Bagels
5050 Kietzke Lane – 775-825-1045 – map
Open Mon-Fri 5:30am-5pm, Sat-Sun 6:30am-4pm. Bagels, coffee, tea — and an EV charging station too!. 240V. Free charging for customers during business hours, or 24 hour accessible with an MyChargePoint.net account/card.
Greek Cafe
6405 South Virginia Street, # 5 – 775-284-8844 – map
Open Mon-Fri 11am-7pm, Sat 11am-8pm. A really nice, yummy menu of greek food.
Gandolfo's New York Delicatessen
6633 South Virginia Street, Suite A – 775-851-1400 – map
Open Mon-Sat 7am-9pm, Sun 8am-6pm. Wide variety of quality sandwiches, salads, soups, and breakfast items.
The Pita Pit
6633 S Virginia Street, # B – 775-852-2999 – map
Open daily 11am-8pm.
Magic Carpet/Giorgio's Pizza
6925 South Virginia Street – 775-853-1177 – map
Open Mon-Sat 11am-10pm, Sun 11am-9pm.
Woo Chon
5085 South McCarran Blvd – 775-825-2552 – map
Open Mon-Sat 11:30am-9pm, closed Sundays. All-you-can-eat sushi.
Hospitals / Urgent care
St. Mary's Family Walk In Health
6580 South Virginia Street – 775-853-3333 – map
Open Mon-Sat 9am-9pm, Sun 9am-6pm.
Liquor Stores
Total Wine
6671 South Virginia Street – 775-853-3669 – map
Open daily 8am-11pm. The largest selection of wine, spirits, and beer in the region, with some very good prices.
Recycling & Dumps
Whole Foods Market
6139 South Virginia Street – 775-852-8023 – map
See above for details.
EV Charging Station
Einstein Brothers Bagels
5050 Kietzke Lane, Reno,NV 89511 – 775-825-1045 – map
Open Mon-Fri 5:30am-5pm, Sat-Sun 6:30am-4pm. 240V. Free charging for customers during business hours, or 24 hour accessible with an MyChargePoint.net account/card. And bagels and coffee etc too!
Car Repair and Parts
Mike's Automotive Perfection
5301 Longley Lane # 214 – 775-827-5600 – map
Open Mon-Fri 8am-5pm, closed weekends. An honest, but not inexpensive, mechanic if you need serious car repairs while in the area.
Pep Boys
5000 Smithridge Drive # 1 – 775-827-1700 – 775-827-1912 – map
Need more info? Try: Reno-Sparks Convention & Visitors Authority, Reno News and Review, Reno Gazette-Journal, Reno Magazine, Reno Tahoe Tonight, National Traffic and Road Closure Information, PlayReno, NevadaNet, goTahoe.com, Tahoe.com, Fernleynews.com. 
