Soda Springs General Store

Tony does a great job with this place.
All the things you need when arriving late, or just need a lime, coffee etc.

After a hike up to see the China Wall and then into the snow tunnels built by the Chinese, this little market was PERFECT! Staff was friendly and helpful, they have all kinds of snacks and food items, and made us some tasty sandwiches-​to-​order. There isn’t a designated area with tables to eat, but after the long hike it felt great to sit in the shade on the front porch to rest up while we ate the sandwiches. We will definitely be stopping here again!

This little convenience store is for lack of a better word so «convenient» in an area that is somewhat removed from major grocery stores. The prices are a little higher and the selection a little limited, but for saving you from having to make a trip into Truckee it’s worth it. The owner and staff are also really friendly which is great for supporting local business. My only tip is that at the end of the day on a busy weekend they can be somewhat wiped out from the Sugar Bowl crowd so if you’re looking for something in particular you may be out of luck.

Cheryl (the proprietress) was great!
It was my 6 year’s old 1^st ski trip and she did a quick lesson the day before in Soda Springs which already included the equipment. We decided to go back for a few hours and let her try the slopes for a few hours before heading back down to the bay area. The store is right on the way to Soda springs with a banner saying $ 10.95 for kids ski (helmet $ 5 extra) so we decided to pass by to save money. Cheryl outfitted my child right away and made sure everything fit properly. I was a little bit apprehensive with the limited selection but my husband who also ski’d with my child said everything worked great.
Cheryl was very attentive and got us in and out of the store quickly.

Glad this place is here.
Nothing else in the area and they tend to have just enough.
Their sandwiches are great.
Get one before a hike or skiing.
It has a real home town feel. People complain about the place sometimes, but I don’t understand why. Yeah, it’s not a 7eleven and we are happy for that. It’s a classic american shop. The kind that is slowly being put out of business.
Stop by. People are nice.
Selection is fine.
It’s great

Don’t know what we’d do without this place! It’s small, but they try to stock the most important essentials!

Absolutely horrible.
I almost never write reviews, but my recent experience compels me to do so. I am posting this review on Facebook as well so my friends are aware of how horrible this was.
I get that some folks who live nearby may not have many options (we are lucky we live closer to Truckee and have lots more options), but this place is horrible. And I mean horrible. First off, the place is a bit dirty and disorganized. Things seems to be somewhat randomly scattered around the interior which is dimly lit and not inviting at all. Second, and much more importantly the staff (Cheryl, who sounds nice based on the other posts was not there on the day we were there) are absolutely among the rudest and least helpful people I have ever seen. There was an older gentleman with a beard and a younger fellow, both of whom were worse than worthless in terms of customer service.
Here is our story. We went in as a family of 5 hoping to get some deli sandwiches as we hiked the Pacific Crest Trail and were hungry. In general, I like these kind of funky places so I knew what to expect and thought it would be fine. Boy was I wrong. When we went in, we were the only ones in the store. As we passed the counter the younger guy did not even look up. When we asked him where we could find some juice for the kids, he kind of waved towards the back without looking up. We found the juice under some nasty looking plastic cover over the fridge and walked back to the front to get our food. We made our way over to where it seemed like the sandwiches would be made over on the right and waited for a couple minutes but nobody moved a muscle to help (remember, there was nobody else in the store). At this point, apparently the shift change was in effect as the older guy with a beard was now at the counter and we went back over and asked where we should go for sandwiches. He said, back over there where you were, on the left-​hand side of the deli fridge thing. So we went back … and I am not making this up — we waiting another few minutes with these two jokers sitting about 20 feet away not moving a muscle. After about 2 – 3 more minutes (again, we were the only ones in the store) there was still no movement. So we put our drinks back and walked out. Here is the kicker — on my way out I mentioned to the older guy that it seemed like poor customer service for them to have two people there and not serve their only customers. I am not making this next part up — he looked right at me and said «get out and never come back’. I have no idea if there is somebody else out there who looks lot like me and regularly kicks this guy’s dog or something but I had never seen him before in my life so I have no idea why he was treating our family (including 3 young kids) this way. I asked him what I did wrong and he said I was a jerk. Personally, I don’t think I am, but even if I was he would have had no way of knowing it — he never took the time to talk to us! He literally laughed as we left and the door hit my son in the back (the door is seriously odd — with a strange wooden duck pulley system in place). I have NEVER, EVER been treated like this anywhere else on the planet. I cannot say in strong enough terms how much you should avoid this place.
To recap — seemingly unsanitary conditions, disorganized shelves, and the rudest staff ever. Unless you are stuck in a snowstorm, you should go somewhere else. Anywhere else would be better even if you need to drive an extra 10 – 20 minutes.
Cheryl — If you read this, you are only as good as your worst employee. Check your time cards and figure out who was working today — those guys are costing you business!!!

Has everything you would need if you can’t get out of Soda Springs. I would suggest going to a grocery store instead if you can shop ahead of time.
They keep a decent number of brews stocked and they have a deli of sorts too.

I thought this was a cute quaint little store when we entered. We bought our ski lift tickets, goggles and snow gloves. We even bought frozen snacks and were able to microwave them in the store.
I waited about 20 mins for the hot water but it still wasn’t ready. I settled for lukewarm cocoa. Minus one star. We all took turns using the microwave for our frozen food. While waiting for each other, we started eating our food.
We were then approached by an employee asking if we paid for our food…
I’m pretty sure my group stood out like a sore thumb. We were the only mixed young crowd there and we were in the store for a good 30 minutes.
When we said yes, he told the cashier who looks like Taylor Swift we paid with her. I was offended. Especially when Taylor Swift was the one that rung me up.
The store is pretty small. It’s not that hard to take notice of who paid already. I would’ve given this store a 4 – 5 star rating but customer service was a drag.

They always have the basic supplies we need when we go up to the mountains. They do charge more but are great when you forget something or just need some more milk. Staff is laid back and friendly and if you are not in a rush and willing to accept the mountain way of doing things, you will love this place.

Great staff!
When we moved to northern California and began skiing a couple of years ago, we settled on Sugar Bowl because it was the closest and we enjoyed it. But one of tricks at the resort is that the advertised ‘free rental with lift ticket’ only applies to adults. Sure, the kid’s lift ticket is only $ 20, but equipment is $ 30 more. Not cool.
Enter Soda Springs General Store.
Not only can you get first-​rate equipment in a hurry, but you’re also getting it at a fraction of the cost. The kid’s setup is only $ 10 – 12 and the guys in the back do a great job of making sure everyone has an excellent fit.
Even though we’ve got our own equipment and Boreal season passes now, we still stop in for a snack or to talk about snow conditions just about every time we go up to ski.

My roommate and I made an impromptu trip to Tahoe’s closest (or one of the closest) resorts — Sugar Bowl. I am ski-​less (in the sense that I don’t own any) so rather than pay the exorbitant rental fee on the mountain, we decided to rent on the way. My roommate found the Soda Springs General Store which also happens to rent skis and snowboards, sells lift tickets at a slight discount ($ 57 for an adult lift ticket for non-​holidays compared to the $ 60 standard rate)…and random other assorted food stuffs and paper products (and chains, I think).
We arrive at around 8:45 a.m. to rent skis, and the section in the back of the store where the skis are seems pretty empty. Hello? I get the grocery store clerk (who apparently doubles as the guy who outfits skis) to come back and help me. I fill out my paperwork, and then we go to a small room in the back where there are boots. I tell him my shoe size, and he gives me a set of boots. I put them on, and they are huge — I confirm that these are the right size. He says, oh, well, they’re actually men’s sizes, so they might be a bit big. OK, interesting, I think, because I’m not a man. So, we go down a size. It still feels a bit loose but I didn’t try on the next size down because they don’t have half sizes (and another full size down seemed like it would be way too small… but perhaps I should have tried them on). I’m not very good about ski equipment (not being much of a skier), so the boots seemed okay but not great. He fits my boots to my skis and I’m on my way ($ 25 for a day rental, $ 15 for each subsequent day).
After the first run, I start to feel the pain and discomfort from my boots. After talking to my roommate (who was in the bathroom when I was getting my boots — there isn’t one in the general store but there was one at the rental shop across the street), I realize that my boots are too big. Oops — I guess I should have had a snugger