Inez Stempeck, Owner, Casale's Halfway Club

Inez Casale Stempeck was born in 1927 at the Coney Island Dairy, then located near El Rancho and Prater Way. Her parents, who both emigrated to Nevada from Italy, founded Casale’s as a roadside fruit stand in the late 1930s. The business evolved into Casale’s Halfway Club, a popular Italian restaurant named for its location halfway between Reno and Sparks. Casale’s remains a family business, as Stempeck works in the kitchen alongside her son, Tony, and some of her grandchildren. Photo by Patrick Cummings

Full Oral History Transcript

Casale's Halfway Club owner Inez Casale Stempeck describes how her parents, both natives of Italy, met in Sparks, Nevada after he paid for her visa, sight unseen. Recorded by Alicia Barber.

Interviewed by the University of Nevada Oral History Program in 2005, Inez Casale Stempeck recounts the origins and development of Casale's Halfway Club.

Interviewed in 2005 by the University of Nevada Oral History Program, Inez Casale Stempeck describes the area surrounding Casale's Halfway Club, its enduring appeal, and her daily routine as head cook.

Fred Schwamb, Martin Iron Works

Born in Syracuse, New York in 1931, Fred Schwamb moved in 1936 to Reno, where his father, Martin Schwamb, founded Martin Iron Works in 1939. Fred worked with his father from boyhood, first at the shop’s original location on Morrill Avenue, just south of East Fourth Street, and then at its current location at 530 East Fourth Street. He later founded his own steel fabrication business just across the street from the original site of Martin Iron Works.

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Louis and Lorraine Erreguible, Owners, Louis’ Basque Corner

Louis and Lorraine Erreguible opened Louis’ Basque Corner at 301 East 4th Street in 1967, and also ran the hotel upstairs. A native of the Basque Country, Louis moved to Reno in 1948. Lorraine, born in California, moved to Reno in the mid-1940s and worked for nine years at Alpine Glass. They met at a local restaurant and married in 1955. Louis’ Basque Corner quickly became a regional favorite, eventually gaining national recognition for its family-style Basque lunches and dinners. The Erreguibles sold the business and retired in 2011. Lorraine passed away in 2013.

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History Project4th Street | Prater Way

Inez Stempeck, Owner, Casale's Halfway Club

Fred Schwamb, Martin Iron Works

Louis and Lorraine Erreguible, Owners, Louis’ Basque Corner

History Project
4th Street | Prater Way