As Nevada’s second city, Reno was once a boomtown of gambling, vice and quickie divorces. The city struggled as tribal casinos proliferated in neighboring California in the last decade, sapping the demand for just-across-state-lines slot machines and blackjack tables. Never as cosmopolitan as its “Biggest Little City” motto suggests, Reno has long had a night life dominated by second-rate casinos, strip clubs and the diviest of dive bars. Those days, however, are disappearing.

Nowhere is that change more apparent than in the Midtown District, a modest neighborhood south of downtown where a half-dozen new lounges, gastro pubs, craft breweries and cocktail bars have recently opened. In a city notorious for wicked night life, this generation of businesses represents a continuation of a boozy after-dark tradition and a break from Reno’s seedy past. This Midtown, as such, has existed for only a handful of years. Previously, the district was known as the Bungalow District for its many small Craftsman homes. But the area, like Reno itself, battled a sleazy reputation.

The making of this new Midtown was the work of the small-business owners behind Midtown District Reno (midtowndistrictreno.com) — vintage boutique, hardware store and tattoo parlor owners. Another group, the Creative Coalition of Midtown (creativecoalitionreno.com), was started this year to host events and bolster the area’s creative community. “It has taken off,” said Amber Solorzano, a 31-year-old artist and coalition co-founder. “We saw a hole, with the Midtown growing so fast and it becoming a place where people want to be, where people want to live, where people want to come to hang out.”

At the top of Midtown and one block east of the area’s main artery, South Virginia Street, three-year-old Old Granite Street Eatery (243 South Sierra Street; 775-622-3222; oldgranitestreeteatery.com) is an advantageous starting point for an evening out. The weekday happy hour includes the restaurant’s entire list of craft beers, a well-considered selection of wines by the glass and a menu of satisfying three-for-$10 small plates.