Living, Playing + Innovating in Tahoe Donner

By Tiffany Connolly | Photos courtesy of Thao Doan

WHERE IT ALL STARTED

The Jeffrey pines in their Tahoe Donner backyard are much bigger now, but the purple ribbons remain. “We just loosen them each year as the trees get bigger,” explains Thao Doan, Tahoe Donner homeowner and co-founder of the restaurant search engine, Kynbo.

Thao Doan and John Doolan made a lifetime commitment to each other in the backyard of their Tahoe Donner home 20 years ago under that same Jeffrey pine. It’s a nostalgic reminder of their personal and professional growth together.

“We had a friend in college whose parents owned a house in Tahoe Donner. We would visit with our friends all the time. When we were looking for places to get married, we drove all over the place and everywhere we looked was super expensive. So, we got married in the backyard of our Tahoe Donner home in 1998. We lived there full time for five years, moved back to the Bay for nine years, and then made the permanent move back to Tahoe Donner in 2012,” said Thao. “We have had a number of friends also buy up here. Everybody loves the community here.”

FAMILY + FUN

Since moving to Tahoe Donner, the couple has been busy raising two girls: Brogan (14) and Parker (17). While the move from the Bay up to Tahoe Donner was initially difficult for the children when they were young,  they soon fell in love with all the activities that the amenities provide, especially horseback riding.

“I love living in TD because my best friends are nearby, and we have great amenities. We meet up to work out at Trout Creek and then relax in the hot tubs afterward. Everything we need is within a few miles,” said Parker.

“My love of horses started at Tahoe Donner Equestrian Center. It’s beautiful. I can’t believe I was only two years old when I first rode a horse! Her name was Cookie and I think she’s still there. Last summer I got to board my horse, Johnny, there while he was taking a break from competing,” said Brogan.

“We love boarding Johnny here, especially for the 24/7 cameras. It was also a great bonding experience for Brogan and Johnny. We were at the paddocks every day. She took him out for walks and frequently rode him on the trails. There was a disconnect when we were boarding him in Reno,” said Thao.

If you were at last summer’s Wild West Fest, you might have seen Brogan riding Johnny. Brogan was the only English rider, so she showed off her jumping skills.

“In the winter, we love the downhill ski resort. We are really low-key and not big downhill skiers, which is why Tahoe Donner Downhill is so appealing. There’s no traffic, no big trees and it’s affordable! It’s great when our nieces come up. Little ones can’t stay out and ski for six hours, so it’s a really great value if you have kids,” said John. “Our friends from other local neighborhoods come over and wonder why they didn’t buy in Tahoe Donner!” said Thao.

KYNBO:HELPING DINERS + RESTAURATEURS

It was at Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco that Thao and John first conceived of the idea for Kynbo, their popular restaurant search engine.

“We were looking for a place to eat that served crab cakes, so John got on his phone and began searching. He was on his phone for 32 minutes looking for crab cakes in the Fisherman’s Wharf area! It took so much effort having to look at all these different websites to find the information we were looking for. A place in Boston came up in our search, which was of course no help to
us,” remembered Thao.

“It’s silly that in this day and age of advanced technology, there was nothing that focused on the menu. An establishment’s menu should be the main focus and
the drive. Not reviews. What works for one person may not work for us,” John said.

“We thought there had to be a better way to find information, menus, specials and events for local restaurants in one easy place. We asked ourselves, how do we use technology for good? How do we better our experience as consumers?” said Thao. “So, we created it in Kynbo, which means vicinity in Japanese. It’s been a fun and challenging two and a half years.”

Kynbo is a powerful restaurant search engine that can be downloaded as an app or used on a computer. It’s designed to find exactly what you want in the location you are searching.

“Maybe you’re looking for a specific brand of beer, a kid’s menu, a dog friendly establishment, brunch, happy hour, or live music. Kynbo’s powerful filters help our users get where they want in one place and with ease. It has built-in navigation and the ability to set reminders and share places you love with other users,” explained John.

“I’m always forgetting about Wild Wednesdays at The Lodge Pub! Now, Kynbo sends me a reminder, so I don’t forget anymore laughed Thao.

“David Smith, head chef at Alder Creek Cafe, and his wife Michele were extremely helpful on the back end of our development. They helped us address the pain points for restaurant owners to make it as easy as possible for them to use, update menus and specials, and promote events,” said Thao.

“It’s always free for every restaurant to add themselves to Kynbo. We’re not doing it to make a buck. We created Kynbo to drive change and encourage everyone to start discovering and exploring again,” said John.

“We want to provide equal opportunity for the mom and pops and smaller eateries without big marketing budgets to be found as easily as the higher-end places. We love the little places just as much as the big ones.”

“It’s Truckee’s best kept secret. Built right here in Tahoe Donner,” smiled Thao.

Download the free Kynbo app to check out menus, specials and events for the Lodge, Alder Creek and other great restaurants throughout the community. Visit kynbo.com to learn more.