Work to begin on restaurant upgrade as part of River Hotel renovation

Work on the Onyx Kitchen in the River Hotel will begin soon, according to permits issued by the city.

Renovation of the hotel began in November, and now the 3,500-square-foot restaurant will see $250,000 in upgrades.

Management of the hotel, formerly the Red Lion River Inn, recently changed hands following Red Lion’s decision not to renew its lease on the property at 700 N. Division St.

GVD and Ruby Hospitality will take over management of the hotel. GVD Commercial purchased the hotel property for $10.75 million in 2003. With the new hotel, Ruby will run six hotels in all, including Hotel Ruby, Ruby2 and the Montvale Hotel in downtown Spokane, the Hotel Ruby Sandpoint and Ruby Suites. Ruby Hospitality also manages the Montvale Event Center, the Bing Crosby Theater and Sapphire Lounge.

The kitchen project’s general contractor is Mauer Construction, of Spokane. Bernardo|Wills Architects designed it.