The Bend Reopens After Microwave Fire

Thu., Feb. 2, 1995

Kara Briggs Staff Staff writer

The Bend Restaurant, which closed briefly after a fire last month, is open again, serving the fare that has made it a popular North Side eatery since 1954.

Owner Bob Geiser said the Jan. 17 fire began shortly after 11 p.m. when food being heated in a microwave oven burned. The microwave caught fire and flames darted toward the ceiling.

Employees and customers rushed from the lounge into the kitchen and used fire extinguishers to douse the flames. Firefighters ripped out the kitchen’s false ceiling to make sure the fire was out.

The restaurant, N2721 Market, reopened at 11:30 a.m. the next morning after cleaning up.

“I run into so many people who thought we were going to be closed three to six months,” Geiser said.

Geiser said the microwave and the ceiling were the only things damaged.

Geiser bought The Bend 7-1/2 years ago.

For almost 30 years the restaurant was operated by the Colistero family. It originally opened as a drive-in after World War II.

Employees honored

Employees of Manor Care Convalescent Center, N6025 Assembly, were recognized as the second-best staff among Maryland-based Manor Health Care’s centers in the western United States.

All 135 employees were given cash bonuses for their work, said Sylvia DeWaard, director of nursing. The national company’s vice president and the regional vice president came to Spokane to announce the award.

Nationally, Manor Care operates 126 convalescent centers.

Annually the national company calls the families of patients and asks them how their centers are doing.

Then awards are given to the centers that get the best customer comments.

“It’s an incentive program,” DeWaard said. “It’s fairly tough to get because we’re competing with so many centers.”

Furniture store opens

Oak Furniture Warehouse has opened its second store at N3314 Division, formerly the site of a Premier Video store.

Owner Craig Weddle said the new store is 4,200 square feet, roughly one-third the size of the original Oak Furniture store at E5414 Sprague, which opened two years ago.

Weddle said he opened the North Division store to attract North Side shoppers who may have been reluctant to drive to East Sprague.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Kara Briggs Staff writer Staff writer Grayden Jones contributed to this report.

Local journalism is essential.

Give directly to The Spokesman-Review's Northwest Passages community forums series -- which helps to offset the costs of several reporter and editor positions at the newspaper -- by using the easy options below. Gifts processed in this system are tax deductible.

Meet Our Journalists

Jesse Tinsley

Meet Jesse Tinsley. As a certified drone pilot, this veteran Spokesman-Review photographer often can be seen capturing beautiful aerial photographs of our region. Sometimes though, the job requires getting down with the dogs.
Jim Meehan

Jim Meehan is no stranger to Zag Nation. As the lead writer covering the Gonzaga men’s basketball team, he tells the stories behind the game and gets fans a bit closer to their favorite players.
Molly Quinn

There is no artist in Spokane like Molly Quinn. Her whimsical style is instantly recognizable to readers of The Spokesman-Review. She has painted gorgeous illustrations that instantly elevate the journalism accompanying it. She brings to life the stories that defy photography. She makes our pages better.
Rob Curley

Spokesman-Review editor Rob Curley loves to talk with people and learn about their lives, whether it's a best-selling author or a stranger he meets downtown on his walk to lunch. It's that inquisitive nature combined with a playful sense of storytelling that helps make our newspaper different than most.