Behind Roff Way

We call it the Roff Building, mostly because we don’t know what else to call it and it sits on the corner of Roff Way and West 1st Street.  Roff Way gets its name from a prominent Reno family that helped settle the area in the 1860’s.

Built in 1936, my wife and her business partners opened their sandwich shop in the Roff Building. Very few records exist showing the buildings use before 1970. 

They closed the sandwich shop in early 2011 and opened a drinking establishment simply known as “Bar,” later that year. The new business is doing very well.

Nathan Roff came to Nevada in 1863, and found work the harness and saddlery business in Washoe city, at the period of that town’s high-tide of prosperity. He remained there until 1868, when, at the public auction sale of lots, he purchased four lots and thus became one of the earliest settlers and founders of the City of Reno, where he remained until his death, in 1897.

Nathan’s son, Nate Roff was born at St. Louis, Missouri, February 4, 1852, and was very young when he came out west. He graduated from the College of California in the class of 1870, after which he returned to Washoe City, and learned telegraphy.

For some time he worked for Western Union Telegraph Company, and later of the Virginia and Truckee Railroad Company. For five years he was deputy land register in Carson City.

Nate was also a clerk in the Nevada legislature at nearly every session for a twenty-five year period, was chief clerk of the assembly twice and clerk of the senate three times.  Eventually, he became a state senator representing Washoe county.

Roff was a Republican until the silver issue split that party into two, then he became one of the organizers of the Silver Party of Nevada. He was also Secretary of the State’s Central Committee for several years and  worked for U.S. Senator Francis Newlands.