All-Ages Coffee Club Opens; To Have Live Music On Weekends

At long last, kids under 21 have a place to watch live music.

A new all-ages club/coffee house, aptly titled the Coffee Club, has opened at 3110 N. Division and will be staging concerts every weekend.

Since moving here from the Portland area, owners Mike and Brenda Vasquez have known an important audience - people under the age of 21 - in Spokane has traditionally been overlooked.

For a couple of reasons - mainly money - previous attempts at running all-ages clubs haven’t been successful.

Mike Vasquez understands this.

“You got to stick with it and go all the way out if you’re going to do it,” Vasquez said. “There’s no half-stepping, not here.

“From where we’re from, Portland, they’ve got all-ages clubs everywhere. They know what they’re doing and they know how to run their establishments. And that’s what we’re basing our ideas on. I don’t see anything but complete success.”

The Coffee Club has a number of appealing attributes.

It has an appetizing menu featuring choice items like quiche and chicken cordon bleu. In other words, it’s an appropriate place to have lunch or dinner.

Further, it serves only gourmet coffee imported from Italy. And appetizers are abundant.

Plus, there’s video games, pool tables and darts.

On the weekends, the Coffee Club plans to bring in the area’s top cutting-edge bands.

So far, Vasquez has had some success. The first two weekend shows were packed. And on the weekdays, the club is attracting serious coffee drinkers.

“I think we’re going to be here for a long time,” he said.

The hours are 8 a.m.-midnight, Sundays through Thursdays, 8 a.m.-3 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

Tonight, Clabberhag, Indika, Non-Labeled Existence and Fusion will wrestle their pummeling sounds on stage. The music kicks off at 8:30 p.m. and admission is $3.

Elsewhere in the night

Walla Walla R&B wizard Robin Barrett will be at the Fort Spokane Brewery tonight and Saturday.

The singer/guitarist has developed a respectable following here over the last couple of years.

Barrett, whose influences range from Buddy Guy to Albert King, has recorded three albums including 1993’s “Love For The Blues.”

Music starts at 9:30 both nights. The cover is $4.

Fans of the defunct quirky punk bands Bellywipe and Junior Rodeo Daredevils, two of the most underrated bands to ever play Spokane, ought to check out the latest spin-off from the both bands, Red Face Green Snakes tonight at Ichabod’s North.

This will be the band’s final show, as one of its members will be splitting for Seattle.

The names of the opening bands were not available at press time.

Music starts at 9:30 p.m.

Tonight marks the final show for the troubled Big Dipper. The club is for sale and will close tonight.

On stage are two heavyweights from Seattle, Lazy Susan and Blind Tribe. Both bands frequent Spokane and are some of best rock units the Emerald City has to offer.

Showtime’s 9:30. The cover is $5.