Family opens second Liberty Lake eatery
A family that eats together, as the saying goes, stays together. So what happens to the mother, son and uncle who open a restaurant together?
For one area family, it’s meant the opening of a second restaurant just 10 months after doors opened at the first eatery.
Hay J’s Bistro partners Rhonda Powell, her son and executive chef Patrick Fechser, and Powell’s brother, Martin Dean, opened Stilos Seafood and Steakhouse Feb. 6 in the former Caffe Liberte building near the Liberty Lake Library. Hay J’s Bistro is just down the street at 21706 E. Mission Ave. where they offer lunch and dinner.
When customers suggested the partners take a look at the empty 2,400-square-foot Craftsman-style restaurant building, it was with the idea that Hay J’s could relocate and expand. But a different plan began taking shape.
“We realized everybody likes (Hay J’s) so we just decided to start a whole new one,” said Powell, a former manager and bartender at the Spokane Valley Applebee’s. “I’ve seen a lot of regulars here (at Stilos) and they will say, ‘Don’t worry, we’re still going to go to Hay J’s.’ “
Customers of both Hay J’s and Stilos will notice similar décor. And those familiar with the interior of the building before Stilos might notice the changes there include wall colors, furniture, and the addition of a bar with a custom-made fish tank inside the bar’s countertop – the life inside of which is for visual stimulation and not for the palate.
The few décor changes, a second menu with additional steak and seafood selections, and another 25 employees, and Stilos – Latin for “style” – was created.
Stilos offers dinners only and brunch on Sundays. Initially it was opened for lunch, but the trio decided to make lunch available for banquet and business meetings with prior arrangements. The new restaurant has a conference room with a remote control drop-down screen, surround-sound system and overhead projector. Powell said future plans include catering, and they will make full use of a second kitchen available in the basement.
For Powell, working hard and managing restaurants with family partners is just part of the payoff. The others are that her brother recently relocated here from Iowa, and every day she gets to be impressed by her son’s cooking skills.
Fechser, 31, worked for several years at Percy’s Cafe Americana in the Valley where he became head chef at age 22 and within a few years was promoted to general manager.