Simply Italian

The newest Italian restaurant and dance club in Reno, 240 N. Sierra St., had its grand opening over the weekend. Vino is open from 4 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday for dining, and 10 p.m. to early morning Thursday through Saturday for dancing. Vino General Manager Alex Shreki says you’d have to see this place to believe it.

Why did you decide Reno needs another bar?

Reno doesn’t need another bar; we’ve got plenty of bars. Reno needed a nice, decent Italian restaurant. Especially downtown, because everything is moving south, and there’s nothing up here in the north. So it was time. We found the right spot, and we have the right chef, so we said let’s do it.

What’s the dress code, and why is there a dress code?

The dress code is very important to me. We don’t take any gang clothing and stuff like that. Especially for the dancing. For the dining, once you walk in the place, you’ll understand why we have a dress code. We’re trying to keep that element out of our place. We want you to come and feel safe, especially when you come and dance. We don’t want you to feel out of place.

Are you Italian?

No, but I had an Italian restaurant before called Pasta Maniacs. It was on Moana and Lakeside.

What’s different about Vino?

The difference is, everybody goes to Italian restaurants, it’s like you need a translator to tell you what you’re going to eat. This is down-to-earth Italian food. You have spaghetti and meatballs, you have the fettuccine Alfredo, you have the lasagna. It’s food that everyone identifies. You know, I could get a 5-year-old [or] 6-year old to open the menu and understand.

A lot of Reno restaurants don’t have real Italian food. Do you do have real Italian, or is it more American Italian?

This is an East Coast-style food. Lots of garlic, and, naturally, it’s very, very tasty.

Will there be ‘80s dancing every weekend?

Thursday and Saturday, we’ll be playing ‘70s and ‘80s music. On Fridays, we have KRZQ’s Mat Diablo, the DJ. We don’t play hip-hop, we don’t play anything hard, it’s just nice and soft. You can come in and have a wonderful meal and a wonderful bottle of wine—we have a great selection of wine—and then the dancing starts at 10 o’clock. So it’s like a night out in one stop.

How much should people expect to spend on dinner?

You can eat and have a nice glass of wine, and it will be under 15 bucks. Our meals start at $6.95 for spaghetti and marinara.

What else should we know about Vino?

We have plenty of parking over at the Golden Phoenix, and just come on down and enjoy it. You wouldn’t believe it until you see it. We have all kinds of premium vodka; and we have the best wines. Our resident chef is from back East, and [after] 9/11, he quit his job in Key West, and he went to ground zero and cooked for free for six months for all the firemen and policemen.