Meet Suzanne Nguyen, Owner / Operator of Zia Lina, the NEW Cafe Zenon & Tahoe City local.
Suzanne was born in Seattle, Washington, raised inEugene, Oregon and attended Ithaca College and the University of Oregon, receiving a Bachelors Degree in Spanish with a double minor in Biology and Chemistry.
After many years working in restaurants and bars across Seattle, Eugene, and Montana, she was ready to find a small mountain town to call home. Suzanne moved to Tahoe City over four years ago and applied her food & beverage experience to become manager of Zia Lina. One year later she purchased the restaurant.
If one Tahoe City restaurant was not enough, Suzanne opened Café Zenon, aptly named after a Eugene Café where she began her culinary training, on December 10, 2016 at the Tahoe City Winter Sports Park / Tahoe City Golf Course/Bar and Restaurant.
Working with Tahoe City Parks and Recreation Department – TCPUD and Tahoe XC, Suzanne has helped to revitalize the golf course clubhouse – painting the interior, renovating the kitchen, adding rustic wood tables and a modern bar that overlooks the new Tahoe City Ice Rink.
Suzanne loves small town life in Tahoe City because she is able to serve her community seasonal, local, organic dishes that include fresh homemade pasta, Vietnamese pho (her mother’s recipe), unique whiskey cocktails and so much more!
When not working you can find Suzanne skiing/snowboarding, Nordic skiing at Tahoe XC, playing tennis, enjoying dinner at Christy Hill orRiver Grill or just cooking at home with her boyfriend TJ Johnson and two dogs – Monkey and Bella.
Stop by Café Zenon this winter to enjoy the view of new Tahoe City Ice Rink and the creative cooking and cocktails from Suzanne and her fabulous team. Café Zenon might just become your new favorite Tahoe City hangout. We already LOVE it!