diff --git a/src/main-process/atom-window.coffee b/src/main-process/atom-window.coffee
index 78a9365f2..5802bdf8d 100644
--- a/src/main-process/atom-window.coffee
+++ b/src/main-process/atom-window.coffee
@@ -255,8 +255,9 @@ class AtomWindow
   isSpecWindow: -> @isSpec
 
   reload: ->
-    @browserWindow.reload()
     @applicationStartedPromise = new Promise (resolve) =>
       @browserWindow.once('window:application-started', resolve)
+    @browserWindow.reload()
+    @applicationStartedPromise
 
   toggleDevTools: -> @browserWindow.toggleDevTools()