New life in the neighborhood

Two neighborhood entrepreneurs are finding business opportunities in a pair of formerly run-down grocery stores in Spokane’s low-income districts.

The projects show that commercial renovation of older buildings isn’t happening just at downtown landmarks such as the Davenport and Montvale hotels.

It’s happening in neighborhoods, too. The developments illustrate a new niche emerging in Spokane revitalization, one that doesn’t rely on large-scale developers and multimillion-dollar financing packages.

“I think people are starting to look to the identity of neighborhoods,” said Teresa Brum, city-county historic preservation officer. “Most of the older buildings are easily adaptable” and relatively inexpensive for starting new businesses, she said.

Patrick and Sherry Medaglia have turned the former Bridgeport Grocery & Hardware store at 3402 N. Crestline into the homey-yet-trendy coffee shop and eatery known as Caffe Godimento. With other family members, they bought the 1905 brick building for $85,000 and put $65,000 into renovation.

When he first looked at the building, Patrick Medaglia said, “I thought, ‘Wow. There is so much we could do with it.’ “

Today, he and his wife said, they are being embraced by the neighborhood near Hays Park and Bemiss Elementary School. “This whole neighborhood has desired something like this for a long time,” he said.

From 1912 to 1946, the P.A. Lyberger family built its business by delivering groceries ordered over the telephone. Spokane grocery giant Marshall Yoke got his start in the business there.

“I think it’s a happening little place,” said Linda Yeomans, who wrote a nomination to place the market at Bridgeport and Crestline on the Spokane Register of Historic Places.

A few miles away, an art deco jewel at East Sprague Avenue and Crestline Street is being renovated to become the expanded home of the Bay Market, an Asian grocery now in a crowded building a few blocks to the west at 1801 E. Sprague.

Van Q. Chiu and his family bought the old Safeway for $180,000. He said the East Sprague area could one day become home to small startup businesses and could attract high-tech companies drawn by research activity at the Riverpoint campus nearby.

“I think this area has great potential,” Chiu said.

The grocery was designed by renowned architect G.A. Pehrson to become what a 1931 newspaper article described as an “ultra-modern food store.” It was initially operated under Safeway’s brand name of Pay n’ Takit.

Chiu said he is not seeking historic status for the old Safeway. He said he is leery of restrictions that might prevent him from adding on to the building.

While the historic registers provide tax breaks, they also require that the historic integrity of the building be preserved, although the regulations provide considerable leeway for adapting buildings to modern uses.

Across Spokane, the redevelopment of older buildings has occurred with and without listings on the historic registers.

The Elk Public House in Browne’s Addition, the Rockwood Bakery near Manito Park, Mary Lou’s Milk Bottle on Garland Avenue and The Shop coffeehouse on South Perry Street are notable examples of conversions.

The trend has spread to Hillyard where businesses have created both national and local historic districts in an effort to revitalize commerce. Business owners in the South Perry area have initiated an effort to create a historic commercial district there, Brum said.

Other commercial areas such as West Broadway Avenue and North Monroe Street have potential as well, Yeomans said.

City Hall is taking notice. The mayor’s office is expected to announce new commercial planning efforts this year for five older business areas. It is seen as part of Mayor Jim West’s emphasis on economic development.

The areas surround Sprague Avenue and Napa Street, where the Bay Market is located; Third Avenue and Thor Street; Maxwell Avenue and Elm Street; Mission and Hamilton; and Grand Boulevard and 29th Avenue.

New land-use plans for the areas are expected to encourage redevelopment, mixed residential uses and pedestrian-friendly development.

The Medaglia family wants to make their cafe a neighborhood gathering spot. They installed free wireless computer service and have opened their doors for at least one neighborhood council event. The cafe owners are also planning to host non-alcohol musical events, including dances and karaoke for all ages.

Their coffee comes from Italy, including the Medaglia d’Oro brand, which carries the same name as the cafe owners.

One of the customers is Joyce Lyberger McMullen, who is old enough to remember that a quart of milk went for 10 cents in the 1930s, according to the building’s nomination form. McMullen helped Yeomans document the history of what is known as the Wallace-Lyberger Building.

The old Safeway store is midway through renovation, Chiu said. It sports new exterior paint, flooring, shelves and electrical. Chiu said he is waiting to build up some more cash before completing the work. He said he hopes to move the Bay Market into the old Safeway later this year, and then begin converting the existing grocery into an Asian restaurant.

Chiu was born in Cambodia and came to the United States from Vietnam in the early 1980s. His sister, Cindy Chau, works with him at the store.

Chiu is an unlikely grocer. He holds a doctoral degree from UCLA in environmental and chemical engineering. He studied at the California Institute of Technology at Pasadena where his adviser, professor Janet Hering, described him as “a very bright, motivated person.”

Chiu said he left a high-tech research company in California and came to Spokane to help out in his family’s Asian grocery business.

He said he wants to return to high-tech research after he gets his family’s businesses up and running.

Chiu said East Sprague may have a bright future for startup businesses, but business owners can’t bring about the change by themselves. “It all depends on the city’s willingness to work with us to see the redevelopment of this area,” Chiu said.