BUSINESS PROFILE THE RODRIGUEZ FAMILY A Staple in the IV/CB Community

By Kayla Anderson

On a bright sunny Lake Tahoe afternoon, Harlan Rodriguez was nice enough to invite me over to his family’s home located in the heart of Incline Village. There, Harlan and his parents Gabriel and Gilda welcome me inside where I learn about their family’s living legacy.

Gabriel and Gilda moved to Incline Village from Mexico City in 1990, when Gilda’s brother Mario prompted them to come. The couple liked the area so much that they stayed, Gabriel working as a plumber and then later both working for a housekeeping company and then in property management (for the two-story building on E. Enterprise Street comprised of apartments and commercial spaces in what IVCBA President Linda Offerdahl calls “Harlan Plaza”). In 2012, the Rodríguezes bought the laundromatone of the commercial spaces in the building- and two years later bought the whole building. Harlan Plaza is a two-story building with 28 living spaces on the second floor and 11 commercial spaces on the bottom floor. Business included are: the Mexican market, the HIVE collection, Louie’s Barber, Incline Door and more. There are 19 Rodriguez family members who live and work in Incline Village. Harlan has four siblings, who all help out with the businesses, and a smattering of nieces and nephews. His nephew Allen goes to high school in Incline, another goes to Truckee Meadows Community College, and one works in construction.