Flour Mill Businesses Enjoy Boost From Proximity To Spokane Arena

The businesses in Spokane’s Flour Mill shopping center have a new neighbor, and they couldn’t be happier.

The Spokane Arena, with its 12,000-person capacity, has brought increased business to the cozy shopping center across the street at 621 W. Mallon.

“It’s definitely given us more exposure,” said Sandy Bergstresser, manager of The Copper Colander, a kitchen wares store. “They’ll see us and hopefully when they’re ready to make a purchase, they’ll think of us.”

The old Coliseum was just a few hundred feet farther away. But you can smell the food at Flour Mill restaurants from the entrance to the new Arena. And on good nights it draws twice as many people as its predecessor.

Restaurants are reaping the most obvious rewards.

Scott Valley, manager of the Pizza Haven, said the restaurant does two to three times its average business on event nights.

“We have to gear up for when there’s events,” Valley said. “We’re very busy for the hour and a half, two hours before the event starts.”

On the average event night, Clinkerdagger Restaurant is packed. There’s no room in the bar for people waiting for tables, so waiters serve them drinks and appetizers in the foyer. Two extra waiters are scheduled.

“They’re close, convenient, and the food’s good,” said Helen Fisher, who usually stops by with her husband, Al, before Spokane Chiefs hockey games.

“We would go (to Clinkerdagger), but not as often as we do now,” Al Fisher said.

Ron Luse and Art Krumm were looking for a place to have a couple of drinks and some snacks before the hockey game. Clinkerdagger won out because of its proximity.

“We wouldn’t have thought of it otherwise,” Luse said.

Businesses that haven’t seen an obvious leap in sales still appreciate the increased people-flow delivered by the Arena.

“The cash register doesn’t have to ring, because they’ll come back,” said Milo Hutchison, owner of Tobacco World. “It’s certainly not detrimental.”

The shops do well during two-to-three-day events, such as the recent women’s volleyball tournament or the circus.

“When they had the volleyball, that was a wonderful week,” Bergstresser said. “You could tell every time there was a break between games because we’d have a big rush.”

Some merchants aren’t sure the Arena will bring in more customers than the Coliseum did. Others are certain that the Arena makes a difference.

Ho Lan, owner of Ho Ho Teriyaki Chicken, has always closed her doors at 6 p.m. But on one recent night, after her husband had locked the doors, “a whole bunch of people walked by.”

Now, on event nights, they’re open until 7 p.m.

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