The Bar and Club scene of Downtown Spokane is changing, and changing fast. Just in the last couple of weeks 3 bars have announced closures. 2 of the 3 however will return as new establishments , here is what's new....
Marquee Lounge
The Marquee Lounge , a premier nightclub that opened about 5 years ago at 522 W. Riverside in Downtown Spokane, closed it's doors at the beginning of July. The club's lease was due to expire and the owners decided to move on instead of renewing the lease.
While the Marquee is now closed, some of the nightclub's owners have filed for another new liquor license for a business to be called The Closing Bell which would also be located in Downtown. It's too early to get more info on the The Closing Bell but the license application shows an address of 12 N. Post St.
12 N. Post St. appears to be in The Payton Building , a Downtown office building with ground level shops and restaurants that was also once the home of The Spokane Stock Exchange. At this time no info on what will occupy the space on Riverside where the Marquee once was.
Ugly Betties
Ugly Betties is one of the more well known bars in the Downtown area located at 211 N. Division St. next door to Fast Eddie's Pub and only about a block south of the Convention Center. Ugly Bettie's is also going out of business after being sold to Jeremy Tangen who is also a partner in Fast Eddie's and Press Public House on the South Hill.
Ugly Betties will close but is set to re-open around September of this year. However it will not re-open as Ugly Betties and will not be a nightclub like it is today. The new owner says the new business, with no confirmed name as of yet , will have a food menu and a full bar.
The Blue Spark
The Blue Spark located at 15 S. Howard St. was a well known bar that had been in business for 14 years. However last week The Blue Spark's owners announced it would close it's doors for good at the end of last weekend.
The bar owner's says the closure is due to a slow down in customer traffic due to issues with the kids, homeless, etc... who loiter around the Downtown area.
Interestingly The Blue Spark is not the first Downtown business to claim problems with the street kids as last year Beignets , a crepe restaurant closed after being open only a short time for the same reasons.
At this time no new business is known to be taking over The Blue Spark's space.
Other Downtown Bar's
There is always something new going on with the bar and club scene in Downtown Spokane, here are some other things happening:
-Big City Saloon , a rock and country bar opened in the last few months at 321 W. Sprague Ave.
-A new Speak Easy themed bar is opening in space the was last The Globe Bar on N. Division St near the University District / Convention Center. More on this is near future...
-A business called Blush Beauty Bar is opening at 1 N. Browne St. . The business will be a salon that will also serve alcohol. Blush is expected to open in August.
