Open-air atmosphere
Surrounded by greenery and nestled behind a building away from the rush of Sprague Avenue, there’s a small bit of dining paradise.
Bamboo grows high, flowers sprout from corners and umbrellas shelter tables from the sun. It’s the lush environment that keeps some diners coming back to Thai Bamboo at 12722 E. Sprague Ave.
“People come in and request this,” said Amie Dustin, a manager at the restaurant, as she stood next to a pair of bubbling fountains. “We take a lot of pride in this patio. We really do.”
Across the Valley, restaurants big and small often do what they can to accommodate diners outside their main doors. The result is a uniquely Valley social experience.
“It’s just kind of a peaceful environment,” said Mike Aquino, owner of the Burger Royal restaurant at 6115 E. Trent Ave. “You’re out in the public eye. There’s people to look at. There’s cars to look at. There’s a breeze on your face.”
The Burger Royal features four picnic tables set up outside under a metal awning. Customers walk up to a window to order and sit outside to eat – there is no “indoors” except for the kitchen. While dining outside in downtown Spokane may involve sitting on a sidewalk or near a lush, green park, dining outside in the Valley can mean a view of asphalt and exhaust.
Burger Royal is no different.
The four tables provide an up-close view of Trent Avenue and its passing commercial and passenger traffic. One half-barrel with flowers dots the corner of the restaurant. There is nary a blade of grass in sight.
But that’s just how people like it, Aquino said.
“People who eat at the tables can see all the cars go by,” Aquino said. “In the springtime, people move the tables into the sunshine to get a little sun.”
It wasn’t springtime, but two diners at the Thrifty Scotsman, 12024 E. Sprague Ave., moved their picnic table into the shade of their pickup truck canopy on a hot day this week.
“We like all the excitement,” said Carol Benson, who drank iced tea and listened to a police scanner with her husband, William. “We like to watch the cops race up and down Sprague.”
The Bensons are regulars at the Scotsman, and enjoy the ice cream and burgers. They spend many evenings seated at the Scotsman’s plastic picnic table, which was recently replaced after somebody stole the original.
“When the weather’s bad we have to sit inside,” Carol Benson said. “But if it’s good you can count on us being out here.”
Outdoor seating is not entirely a local phenomenon.
Several restaurants with national ownership have created outdoor spots.
Surrounding the Spokane Valley Mall, T.G.I. Fridays, Red Robin, Azteca, and Boston’s Pizza all have designated outdoor seating areas.
At Boston’s, glass walls separate diners from the outside world, and though plants and greenery lighten the atmosphere, the main views are still of the store’s parking lot.
Still, opening the patio is a high point for many, both customers and waiters.
“At the beginning of the year, the servers can’t wait for it to open,” said Darin Martin, a manager at Boston’s Pizza. “Then, after about a month, especially when it’s this hot, it tends to wear them down a bit.”
Boston’s patio features propane heaters to warm diners on brisk nights, and the glass serves as a windbreak from breezes.
Having the patio definitely increases Boston’s business, Martin said.
“It gets people who come just to sit outside,” he said.
Coffee shops in the Valley often feature some tables and chairs outdoors to attract customers. The Starbucks at 12328 E. Sprague Ave. has several tables with umbrellas set up to shelter patrons from the sun. The Rocket Bakery at 3315 N. Argonne Road keeps people cool by placing chairs outside . But those seats are only about three feet away from busy Argonne Road.
Although outdoor seating is usually around for only the summer, the Burger Royal caters to a hardier clientele.
“Even in cold weather we still have our regulars sitting on the picnic tables,” Aquino said. “The ones who eat outside, they still use them.”