Downtown Carson welcomes opening of Amber Room at Doppelgangers

The ribbon cutting for the new Amber Room at Doppelgangers on Friday night was more than just the opening of a new Carson City eatery, but another sign of revitalization of the downtown area.

"This is a commitment to downtown Carson City," said John Sieben, who represents the company's owners. "This company is still putting money into downtown, in a recession when times are bad, still looking to improve downtown."

The Amber Room came about as the result of a $100,000 reconfiguration of the 10,000-square-foot space that in the past lacked an identity. Now, it has three distinct identities that work together.

"That's a lot of money to throw into a facility in the middle of a recession," Sieben said. "That's what we are trying to get the public to understand, to come down and support us. We are still trying to make downtown work."

The Amber Room occupies the space in the middle that was once home to pool tables. It is now separated from the bar and brewery section by a wall, creating a warm, family-friendly dinning area with an upscale but affordable menu.

The food comes courtesy of Melissa Claude, who is both chef and general manager of the restaurant. Trained in San Francisco, Claude has upgraded the menu to feature food a few steps above pub fare, with steaks, fish, pasta and more, with no entree more than $16.

On the bar side of the new wall is a stage with a $50,000 sound and light system, and a new dance floor. During the day, the space is a brew pub, but when the sun goes down it turns into a nightclub, featuring live music and DJs spinning tunes from the 70s and 80s.

On Wednesdays there is live jazz from 5 to 8 p.m., and a live blues band plays every Friday from 5 to 8 p.m.

"Inside this facility, we change ourselves constantly through the day," Sieben said. "It's like having three different shirts on."

The brewery portion of the business has also taken off, with 54 bars in the region now serving Doppelgangers beer, accounting for up to 200 kegs a month.

"We are all over the place, and we get calls every day to our distributor from bars that want our beer," Sieben said.

The brewery also has a new brewmaster, Jason Courtney, who has won several awards for his beer in national and international competition.

The bar features brand new wide screen slot machines, hooked into a progressive jackpot.

There is still a pool table in the back room, along with other games for the young and young-at-heart. And the patio in the very back that was a big hit last summer will open around April 1, weather permitting.

Building on the success of the outdoor events they did last year, Sieben said they hope to do eight events this year, branching out beyond just concerts.

"Our goal is to get more people to come down and see what downtown has to offer," Sieben said.

- Contact reporter Kirk Caraway at kcaraway@nevadaappeal.com or (775) 881-1261.