Zona Blanca was packed on a Monday at lunchtime. But instead of people enjoying oysters and margaritas, a crowd gathered in front of lights and cameras. Chef Chad White had announced on social media a few days earlier that he was closing the ceviche restaurant at the end of September. Over 100 supporters now showed up for a last-minute press conference.
White's Facebook post mentioned a few reasons for the decision, including financial health and the desire for more family time. It also mentioned that "increasing crime, visible drug use, and the damage to public and private property have made it harder and harder to maintain a safe environment for our team and partners who are like family to me, and for you, our valued guests."
Restaurants in Spokane are facing a number of stressors, not the least of which are unprecedented costs of goods and labor. Prohibition Gastropub on North Monroe closed at the end of August, citing decreased business due to parking and construction. Last year, downtown lost the Red Lion Pub and Crave bar to financial issues, though new restaurants have opened in both locations since. Spokane staple Suki Yaki Inn closed because its owners were retiring.
In February, Lauren D'Arienzo, owner of Soulful Soups on Howard Street, put her business up for sale because of both staffing and security issues. For restaurateurs like D'Arienzo and White, public safety is among top concerns. For others, however, it hasn't been their biggest challenge.
White hosted the Sept. 9 press conference, but the cameras were pointed at Spokane City Council member Jonathan Bingle, who streamed the conference on the council's Facebook page.
"We have watched our city drift towards disorder, and for that I want to apologize," Bingle said. Then he motioned to White. "If our most driven entrepreneurs can't make it, what message does that send to the rest of us?"
Most of the community conversation about the closure of Zona Blanca has centered the idea that unchecked crime is making business untenable for downtown restaurants and other business owners. The closure was mentioned as an example of an unhealthy business climate by the host of the Washington state gubernatorial debate held in Spokane last week. It also prompted a Spokane County Republican Party press release on Sept. 20, which stated that "this closure was entirely avoidable, highlighting a profound failure in local governance."
Perceptions of downtown from both restaurateurs and the public vary based on location and personal experience. But those with successful bars and restaurants push back on the idea that the center of the city is dying.
"Downtown's been very good to us," says Deb Green, founder of Madeline's Cafe and co-owner of Durkin's Liquor Bar, both on Main Avenue. "We really like the vibe downtown. We like our neighbors. We like the foot traffic. We're proud partners with the Downtown Spokane Partnership and the Business Improvement District. We like seeing the downtown ambassadors and the Clean Team. I think that everybody's working really hard to continue to make it a better place to be."
RISING COSTS AND COMPETITION
There are numerous factors that could influence a downtown restaurant to close. Most owners trace their current struggles back to 2020 and rising costs."COVID was really, really painful to all of us," says Reema Shaver, owner of Bistango Martini Lounge on Post Street. "It's still lingering downtown with the empty buildings — all the workers are working remotely so you don't have all those people going out eating lunch, having happy hour."
Shaver did, however, just renew her lease on Post Street for five more years.
Tony Brown, chef and owner of Ruins on Riverside, says that summer is Spokane's slowest season for eating out, and buying supplies and ingredients is more expensive than ever.
"Cost of goods is up 20% from last year, which is insane," Brown says.
Labor costs are also increasing rapidly. Minimum wage in Washington is currently $16.28 per hour, nearly 21% higher than the $13.50 minimum four years ago. Restaurants have been forced to either raise prices or trim already sliver-thin profit margins.
Adam Hegsted, chef-owner of Eat Good Group, which operates restaurants across Spokane and Coeur d'Alene, says that small-business loans given during the pandemic are now coming due, adding extra expenses while money is already tight.
"We are in a balance to survive," Hegsted says. "Our customers only have enough tolerance to spend so much money on a meal. They go to fast food because it's cheaper, or they only go out for anniversaries and special dinners. Some of those in-between dinners, which are the meals that get us through day-to-day, have been becoming less."
While restaurants are forced to pay more for their ingredients, operators are often afraid to raise prices accordingly because they don't want to scare away their customers, Shaver says.
Everyone's feeling the pinch, White at Zona Blanca says, and guests are increasingly motivated by discounts.
"When you're not hearing anything positive, and all you're getting is people's bad experiences, it absolutely affects all of us."
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"It becomes this battle of the deal," White says. "The community starts to look towards deals, instead of supporting a business for what they're offering. For us, we've always been quality over quantity."
In an industry that's already uber competitive, brick-and-mortar restaurants have another kind of competition: the internet.
"We're also living in the age of Uber Eats," says Simon Moorby, bar manager at Hogwash Whiskey Den on Pacific Avenue. "How easy is it to just order on your phone?"
More online orders mean less in-person foot traffic, something that traditional restaurants and city centers typically rely on.
So as restaurant and bar owners are trying to balance the books, they're forced to disregard typical budgeting advice. Both Zona Blanca and Ruins operate with food costs making up between 30% and 40% of their budget, even though about 25% is common practice for most restaurants.
"Labor is also supposed to be 25% but that's inflated now, so it's hard to be under 30% for labor," Brown says. "After 14 years of owning restaurants and accumulating all of this data — ever since COVID it's just like, that one's out the window, that one's out the window. It's all different."
Even in a great business year, about 16% of restaurants in Spokane close or change ownership, according to the Washington Hospitality Association.
"When you fail, obviously, that doesn't feel good," Hegsted says. "So you're always looking for a reason why that happened. It's really difficult to look at these financial decisions you made. For example, when we started Gilded Unicorn, we went in there because the rent was cheap, but the place was not the best. It needed a ton of love and a ton of work to get it up. We were failing for maybe two years... If you can't withstand that sort of wave, then it's basically impossible."
Hegsted is no longer involved with Gilded Unicorn, but the restaurant is still open and finally thriving.
'PERCEPTION IS REALITY'
But maybe balancing food costs, employee wages, slow seasons and building renovations are exactly what you sign up for as a restaurant owner. That's what Sarah Shore says she thought she was getting into when she bought Wave Sushi Island Grill on First Avenue two years ago."I never like to blame things I can't control," Shore says. "This is my business. I'm responsible for how it performs. We can manage our labor costs. We can manage our food costs. We can make sure our rent is paid. We can do all those things. But you start to feel a little bit helpless when I would do anything to make it safer down here — if I could hire the police to stand in front of my door, I would — but that's not realistic."
Shore says her restaurant has seen a year-over-year decrease in business, although nothing about her business model has changed. So when the only thing that has changed is the perceived level of safety downtown, it seems directly tied to a dramatic loss in business, she says.
"The influx of homeless people and drug users has really affected downtown, recently, more than ever," Bistango's Shaver says. "We've always had homeless [people], but the open drug use has been very impactful as well. It's real and it's perceived, right? We see it, but then when social media and the media speaks of it, people just perceive it even if they don't see it. But it's still impactful in their mind."
Some business owners concerned about public drug use suggested making it an arrestable offense. In May 2023, Spokane reclassified public drug use as a misdemeanor. Police officers can arrest someone using drugs in public and take them to jail, or they can write them a citation for community court. As the Inlander previously reported, officers need to consider jail capacity — which is often maxed out — when deciding whether or not to arrest someone.
The other major safety concern cited by business owners is property crime. Zona Blanca reported two break-ins over Labor Day weekend.
Spokane Police Department statistics, however, show crime is lower in downtown than last year, a point that was brought up to Bingle at the press conference at Zona Blanca. The crowd immediately started murmuring disapprovingly.
"Someone mentioned that crime is down, which is the most absurd thing I've ever heard," Shore says. "If you've ever walked around down here, you know that that's not true."
Crime stats could be lower because people are calling the police less, but Shore says the numbers don't reflect her experience.
"Perception is reality, right?" White says. "When a community as a whole is concerned about their safety or the safety of their valuables, especially in a time where our economy is struggling, they're going to think twice before spending their dollar in an environment that they feel uncomfortable in."
White says he's received feedback from guests who say they won't come downtown because they feel unsafe, especially because of the homeless population.
Brown and Moorby, who have both spent parts of their lives unhoused, push back against the idea that people without homes are inherently dangerous.
"What you're afraid of is that poor people are going to take what you have and that's their motive," Moorby says. "Ultimately, I think their motive is to remain safe and survive."
"There's two separate camps, the people that are trying to get their lives back on track, and the people that aren't," Brown says. "But it makes it really difficult for the people that are trying to really get any sort of headway towards bettering their situation."
Personal experiences of all kinds play into perceptions of downtown.
"Every business owner's experience is different. Sometimes just a few blocks downtown makes a difference," Green at Durkin's says. "My restaurants are on an alley, so there's foot traffic down there. Occasionally we'll come to work in the morning and there'll be drug paraphernalia out back or something. But I've only been broken into once in 17 years. It was 2015. And I can't remember a time where I felt unsafe downtown."
Green isn't the only woman who feels at ease in the city.
"I don't think we've lost any of our regulars over the years due to feeling unsafe," says Erin Fasbender, the other bar manager at Hogwash, which is located a few blocks from the Greyhound bus station and both Catholic Charities' Jacklin Family Haven and House of Charity housing facilities.
"Nobody was ever like, 'Hey, we're not going to come back in from here on out, because I just don't want to come downtown anymore.'" she continues. "I think the people that are the loudest or the most vocal about not coming downtown are the people that would never come downtown anyway."
"As someone who runs a business downtown Spokane, I feel like it's on us to give the people a reason to want to come downtown," Moorby adds. "If we're not doing that, it's a failure on our own part. If you build it, they will come."
This year, Hogwash had the busiest summer it's had since before the pandemic, albeit with its smallest staff ever.
"When you're not hearing anything positive, and all you're getting is people's bad experiences, it absolutely affects all of us," Fasbender says. "I just love downtown. I'm a downtown person. I love Spokane. I really do. I'm a fan." ♦
