Inlander Restaurant Week coming in February, menus to be released tomorrow

Get ready to try some of what Spokane's restaurants has to offer!

The Inlander Restaurant Week is set to begin in less then a month and tomorrow ( Thurs. 01/30 ) is the day we'll get to see the menus for the growing event. Recently, we we're invited to check out some of the planned dishes, and just looking at some of these items will make a person hungry ( beginning to think I shouldn't have written this post at lunch time.... )

The 2020 Inlander Restaurant Week promises to have more choices then ever, with 121 restaurants participating. That's more then double the amount of restaurants from the their first event back in 2013.

This year there are 23 newcomer restaurants joining this year from Liberty Lake's Pentagon Bistro to Downtown Spokane's Eyvind and more. Diners will even be able to find dishes for special diets with vegetarian & vegan restaurants Rut Bar & Kitchen and Gluten Free restaurant Cole's Bakery & Café , among the list of participating restaurants.

Inlander Restaurant Week is a ten day event , presented by STCU, that will run from February 20-29. Each restaurant will offer a three course meal for a set price of either $22 or $33. The event is also one of, if not the only, Restaurant Week's in the country to offer a drink local component to it with opportunities to sample some of the region's best locally produced wine, beer, cider and spirits.

Menus will be live on their website tomorrow ( http://inlanderrestaurantweek.com ) . There will also a printed guide to the event that will be available tomorrow at all STCU branches, participating restaurants and River Park Square. The printed guide will also be inserted into the full run of The Inlander for the Feb. 20th edition which is distributed at more then 1300 locations around the Inland Northwest.

The Wellness Tree opening new location in the Logan Neighborhood this weekend

The Wellness Tree has been in business for about five years now in Spokane's South Perry District. Their location at 1025 S. Perry serves as part holistic medical care center and part juice bar, and they plan to continue that business model at that location. But, now they are expanding and opening an all new location near Gonzaga University.

In fact, tomorrow Saturday, Jan. 25th is the grand opening for this new location. The new Wellness Tree is smaller then it's S. Perry counterpart so it will operate as only a juice bar, but will include a menu of juices, smoothies and acai bowls. A small area of seating is offered or take away orders are welcomed.

The new Wellness Tree store can be found in a 750 square foot space at 1028 N. Hamilton, in the Matilda Building. Their suite is actually located within the same space as the Empire Fitness gym but can be accessed by entering the fitness center and turning to the left.

More info about The Wellness Tree Juice Bar can be found at http://wellnesstreejuice.com and for more info about their holistic health offerings at the S. Perry location, check that website out at- http://wellnesstreeclinic.com

The Davenport Grand's new Grand Terrace Igloos are an experence like no other

If you haven't already heard there is something new at The Davenport Grand. The hotel now offers igloos along it's Grand Terrace and we we're able to check them out for ourselves recently. And, let me tell you, this is an experience like no other. Something very unique, fun and just an all around great night out " under the stars " .

There are six igloos in total, each accommodating to to six guests. They are all decorated with sofas, chairs and beautiful décor to make guests feel right at home. And, if the weather acts up, they are even heated for your comfort. Plug in speakers are offered so you can bring your own music for your group.

The Igloos line up along the hotels second floor giving views of Downtown Spokane and some of Riverfront Park. They are open to all ages and come with a menu of hor d'oeuvres and a included $100 beverage credit. 

Packages range from $250- $300 with 1.5 hour timeslots available from now through March. Looking to extend the fun? Rooms are available many nights for a full night away, just consult their website at http://davenporthotelcollection.com for availability.

To rent an igloo, or if you just need more information head over to http://davenportigloos.com

Fluffy's Candy opening soon in North Spokane

Watch for a new locally owned and operated candy store is coming soon to North Spokane. Fluffy's Candy will be opening in a 2770 square foot space, directly next door to Five Guys at 9502 N. Newport Hwy. Suite 4.

The new store will sell homemade chocolates , caramels and marshmallows in addition to many different retail products and bulk candy. They are still working on getting all of the stores offerings sorted out but they do tell me they would like to offer many items that are not locally found or commercially made.

A highlight of the new store is a planned five foot tall fiberglass gummy bear perfect for Instagram photos. Work is already underway and they hope to open for business in early April with soft openings possible before that.

For more info on Fluffy's Candy find them on Facebook at https://m.facebook.com/Fluffys-107091760763454/

Large new Hampton Inn now open near Downtown Spokane

After some un-expected delays, like a fire during construction in the parking garage, the Hampton Inn & Suites Spokane Downtown - South is now officially open for business. Opening to guests just a couple days before New Years.

The new hotel occupies a six story building at 675 S. McClellan St., on the back side of Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center and just blocks from Downtown Spokane. In fact the new hotel has some great views of Spokane's skyline and the surrounding area due to it's location directly on the Lower South Hill. The hotel was developed by Spokane South Medical,LLC , which is a part of the Spokane Valley based Hospitality Associates, Inc. which owns several hotels around the Western US and Alaska.

The Hampton Inn & Suites Spokane Downtown offers 109 guest rooms, including several suites. Additionally, meeting space is offered at the property with meeting rooms up to 1,071 square feet available to be rented.

Guests will enjoy free wifi, free parking, indoor pool, fitness center, business center, snack shop, complimentary breakfast and more. Room reservations are open now and available on the hotel's website -https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/gegdshx-hampton-suites-spokane-downtown-south/

Here's what they're building in front of Hobby Lobby in Spokane Valley...

I've received a few questions about what will be going into the new building that many have noticed going up on a pad site along Indiana, directly in front of Hobby Lobby in Spokane Valley. After a bit of digging we have now successfully un-covered the plans for this new structure rising at 13910 E. Indiana Ave.

The building will be a small in-line strip mall type building with about 6000 square feet of space and 2 bays for new businesses. The larger of the 2 bays is already leased by Comcast and will become a new Xfinity store, like the one on N. Division near Northtown Mall.

The other bay is smaller at 2040 square feet and is now being marketed for lease by Kiemle Hagood. This space could be used for many types of businesses including a retail store or restaurant. The empty space has room for a small outdoor dining area so a new restaurant there is very possible and we are watching for any indication of exactly what will be there.

The available space is for lease at $34 per square foot NNN with a tenant improvement allowance as the space will be delivered in a shell state. For more information on bringing a business here contact Kiemle Hagood at 509-838-6541 or http://kiemlehagood.com . This new building will also be a part of the much larger Evergreen Crossing shopping center, which also has space available via Kiemle Hagood ( of which we are not a part of... )

Want to know what they're building somewhere? e-mail me at matt.behringer@inlandnwbusiness.com

Mod Pizza to open a location in Hillyard

The fast casual pizza chain Mod Pizza has a new location coming soon to Spokane. This will be the fifth location for the Bellevue based chain has opened in Spokane.

This new Mod Pizza will be located in the Hillyard Marketplace shopping center and will take over the space that was last a Starbucks and the adjoining empty unit at 3901 N. Market St. . The new restaurant will be in a little over 3000 square feet of space and will open for business sometime in June.

A Mod Pizza representative said at the present time this is the only new location planned to open in 2020 in the Spokane area. The company has enjoyed rapid growth in recent years with over 400 locations now open around the United States and the United Kingdom. Unlike traditional pizza chains Mod Pizza provides induvial pizzas made before the customer and heated rapidly in a 800 degree oven. 

For more information on Mod Pizza, visit their website http://modpizza.com

Downtown's Fruci Building to be converted to Stay Alfred managed travel apartments

Something new is coming to Downtown Spokane's Fruci building at 218 N Bernard. The upper floors of the building have been empty after accounting firm Fruci & Associates moved to a building near the Spokane Arena a couple of years ago. But life is coming back to this space very soon.

Building permits are currently pending with the City of Spokane to remodel the building and convert floors 2-4 into a new use. These floors will become a total of 27 travel apartments of various sizes to be managed by the Spokane Valley based Stay Alfred. If all goes as planned the new apartments will be rentable on Stay Alfred's platform in time for Hoopfest this June.

This will be Stay Alfred's second property in Downtown Spokane in which they will offer their brand of apartment lodging. They also rent out a number of units within The M building aka the former Macy's building near River Park Square, in all however the company rents out thousands of urban apartments in 30+ cities.

The new rental units in the Fruci building will likely benefit from a close proximity to the Spokane Convention Center and the First Interstate Center for the Arts. The apartments will occupy the upper floors but the ground floor will remain as commercial space with current tenants being a Fedex Office and Spa Blue in the City.

Watch for construction work to begin in the near future and check http://stayalfred.com for available rentals and more information about their company.

New ramen restaurant / boba tea place coming soon on Sullivan Rd.

A new ramen restaurant is coming soon to Spokane Valley. After some remodeling work, Kokoro Ramen will open at 509 N. Sullivan Rd. Ste E. The restaurant will be in the same strip mall as Gesa Credit Union and Eye Guys Optical among other businesses.

We have reached out to see when they plan to open but are waiting to hear back. The menu we've found however indicates a menu of delicious ramen, in addition to boba tea, milk teas and a selection of Japanese beers and more.

For more info on Kokoro Ramen, their website will be at http://kokororamenspokane.com