Despite the heatwave, news in the restaurant world is still cooking! Whether you're beating the heat by popping into a new cafe or restaurant, or parking yourself in front of your air conditioner with a glass of award-winning wine, the Inland Northwest has something cool for you.
Phoenix Cafe415 W. Main Ave., 509-903-6937
Revival Tea Company, a local favorite known for its creative tea blends, is brewing excitement in its downtown Spokane boba bar. The upstairs space of the popular tea spot has officially relaunched as the Phoenix Cafe with an expanded food and drink menu.
Drew Henry, CEO of Revival Tea Company, explained the motivation behind the change. "Our logo is a phoenix coming out of a teapot, so we thought that it was an ode to the logo of the company."
Customers are enthusiastic about the change, Henry says.
"People are so excited just to watch the brand and the company continue to evolve," he says. "Our fans are just genuinely excited that we're adding these new menu items."
The rebranding goes beyond just a name change. The Phoenix Cafe is now open from 8 am to 8 pm, seven days a week, catering to both early birds and night owls. Revival's downstairs tasting room still maintains its 9 am to 6 pm schedule.
The Phoenix Cafe's menu expansion brings significant additions, including a full espresso and coffee selection, build-your-own acai cups, and various artisanal toasts. Henry acknowledges the challenges that come with these changes, particularly in customer awareness.
"I think the biggest challenge we have facing us is re-educating people that we do have coffee, we do have actual food options, and then these acai cups as well," Henry says. "So far, the marketing we've done has been through our email lists, text lists and obviously on social media."
As a healthy alternative to sugary boba, the inspiration for the build-your-own acai cups came from a family trip to California, where Henry's 2-year-old became a massive fan.
"Aside from just traditional acai, we were able to bring in blue acai, which is a play on our popular blue tea," Henry says.
Staying on brand, the company builds the bowls in their recognizable boba cups.
"Anytime we do something we want to make it ours," he says, "so putting them in our really unique boba cups was cool."
Looking ahead, Revival Tea Company anticipates even more exciting changes. As part of a nationwide expansion plan to open 50 tasting rooms across the United States, the company is currently doing a large community investment round where customers and fans can contribute to a crowdfund.
"With as little as $250, they can invest in Revival and actually get part ownership of the company," Henry says. (FS)
Emran Restaurant309 E. Lakeside Ave., Coeur d'Alene, 208-292-4465
About six months after opening the first Afghan restaurant in Spokane, Nasrollah and Samira Mohammadi of Emran Restaurant and Market have opened a second location in downtown Coeur d'Alene. The restaurant can seat about 100 people and also provides take out and catering services.
The menu is similar to Spokane's, featuring central Asian favorites like kebabs, curry, a sweet and savory rice dish called pulao, and Afghan dumplings called manto. The new Coeur d'Alene location doesn't have a market like the expanded restaurant in Spokane does, but it's sure to bring lots of new flavors and experiences to North Idaho nonetheless. (EB)
ACCOLADES
The 1924 Riblet Estate, better known as Arbor Crest Wine Cellars' Cliff House Estate, is commemorating its 100th anniversary this year. To celebrate, it's planning a glitzy, glammy Gatsby-themed gala on Aug. 9. Tickets are on sale at arborcrest.com.
An unplanned surprise came last month, when USA Today announced Arbor Crest as a nominee for one of the top 10 Winery Restaurants in the paper's Readers' Choice Awards. All Arbor Crest needs now is your vote! Anyone can vote once per day at 10best.usatoday.com before the competition ends on July 22. Cheers, old sport! (EB) ♦
