With a drive through Tahoe City in the early 1960s, when Dan and Joan Hauserman, noticed a “For Sale” sign in front of the old Lake Chalet Motel in the center of town. It was across the street from The Commons Beach, and truly the heart of Tahoe City. They had been in Tahoe for a few years by that point, but had not really settled in on what they wanted to do with their lives, so they figured what the hell, let’s buy a motel. That was just their style. They were energetic, savvy and willing to work their butts off to make it work.

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Dan and Joan purchased the property then moved their five kids into the small three bedroom house next to the golf course and ran the motel for a few years while planning the next step. Then Joan got a brainchild based on her experience as a world class shopper. What Tahoe City really needed was a place to shop, and she and Dan decided to sell and rent real estate to make it happen. They had recently spent time in Europe so they developed the idea that the Cobblestone would look like a Bavarian mountain community complete with a clocktower.

 

In 1966, Dan and Joan built the first building of The Cobblestone, built a new home in Dollar Point, and had their sixth child. They also opened Hauserman Real Estate.