The Dirt: New restaurant, animal adoption facility planned for former Blackbird Tavern & Kitchen space
Nectar Wine and Beer owner Josh Wade is embarking on a new project in the building that was formerly home to The Blackbird Tavern & Kitchen.
Wade filed a preliminary application with the city to renovate existing basement storage space at 905 N. Washington St. into Bark, A Rescue Pub, which will be an animal adoption facility with a visiting area, kennels and retail space.
The application also indicates plans for a restaurant in the 10,200-square-foot space.
Wade was not immediately available for comment, but a recently created Yelp page for Bark, A Rescue Pub indicates the restaurant will offer “elevated pub food and 38 taps that feature craft beer, cider, wine and seltzer.”
Patrons will be able to interact with shelter dogs and cats, which will have a team of caretakers in a space separate from the restaurant, according to the Yelp page.
Wade also owns Nectar Catering and Events, Nectar Tasting Room and Nectar Media.
Spokane-based Copeland Architecture & Construction is designing the project. The project contractor is Spokane-based Industrial Wood & Steel LLC.
The project valuation is $100,000, according to the application.
Blackbird Tavern & Kitchen closed in 2019. Owner Patrick McPherson cited a lack of business as a reason for closure.
Multiuse planned
for former Vien Dong
The building that formerly housed Vien Dong Vietnamese Restaurant is undergoing renovations into a mixed-use space.
Property owner 1724 Sprague LLC, whose principal is Steve Schmautz, filed an application with the city to expand common areas, build an elevator shaft, repair existing stairs and upgrade the heating and air conditioning system in the 10,974-square-foot space at 1722 E. Sprague Ave.
Tenants for the mixed-use space have not yet been identified, according to the application.
The project contractor is Spokane-based SDS Construction. Spokane-based Architectural Ventures is the project architect.
The project valuation is $100,000, according to the application.
Schmautz purchased the building for $560,000 in 2019, according to the Spokane County Assessor’s Office.
Vien Dong Vietnamese Restaurant closed its location on East Sprague in 2018 and relocated to 3435 E. Trent Ave.
AutoZone remodels space for new store
AutoZone is opening in the Argonne Village Shopping Center in Spokane Valley.
The Memphis, Tennessee-based automotive parts retailer applied for a building permit with the city to remodel a 7,334-square-foot existing space into a new store at 9211 E. Montgomery Ave.
Autozone, founded in 1979, has more than 6,300 stores in the United States, Mexico and Brazil. It has five stores in the Spokane area.