Watch CBS News

South Lake Tahoe Business Owner Takes Chance, Opens New Shop During Pandemic

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE (CBS13) - A sanitizing station sits at the front of Cuppa Tahoe. The reading nooks are all divided by bookshelves. You would think Sandra Santane designed the newest bookstore in South Lake Tahoe with the pandemic in mind, but that's not the case.

"There's all these different nooks, there's bookcases in between so it was and this is literally pure coincidence. It was already set up in a socially distanced way, pure coincidence," said Santane.

Pure coincidence and perhaps pure genius. Santane designed Cuppa Tahoe bookstore a year ago and opened up shop Memorial Day weekend.

"We need that little touch of magic combined with community and we need it even more right now and that's why I think I'm going to pull it off," said Santane.

Santane coined the term "casual co-working" long before people were sheltering in place and working from home. She designed Cuppa Tahoe with separate nooks where people working from home can still do so but get out of the house,

"I think that most of people are ready to back to work, are ready to go back to normal life. I even heard that some people came in and saw the space and cried, it's so beautiful," said Santane's husband, Anain Loge.

"Right now we need the community even more and we need the human connection even more and we need a little touch of magic to believe that it will all be okay," said Santane.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.