Shawn O’Donnell’s American Grill and Irish Pub opens Spokane location

Shawn O’Donnell’s American Grill and Irish Pub, an Everett, Washington-based restaurant chain, has opened its first restaurant east of the Cascades on Monroe Avenue in Spokane.

The new location in the former Milford’s Fish House opened for business at 11 a.m. Monday, according to a company news release. A Facebook post by the chain Monday afternoon proclaimed, “Shawn O’Donnell’s-Spokane is open for business! …”

The building the new Shawn O’Donnell’s occupies at North Monroe Street and West Broadway Avenue was left empty in February 2018 with the closing of Milford’s, a Spokane institution for nearly 40 years. Milford’s owner, Jerry Young, closed the seafood restaurant years after he said he was considering retirement.

Shawn O’Donnell’s announced plans to open its Spokane location on Facebook in June. Since then, the restaurant space has undergone a complete renovation, according to the release, while keeping same historic mementos from Milford’s “honoring the rich history of Spokane and the building’s former owners.”

Company founder Shawn O’Donnell Sr. has said the new location will showcase the chain’s customary menu that includes Irish-inspired offerings such as corned beef and cabbage, shephard’s pie and fish and chips as well as standard pub offerings like burgers and wraps.

The family-owned chain opened its first restaurant in Everett in 1988 and also has locations in downtown Seattle and the Fremont Neighborhood of Seattle.