Iconic Eateries: ‘Old-school feeling’ at the Maxwell House draws longtime regulars in West Central

Bert Jones is not just a regular at the Maxwell House.

The 101-year-old is an honored guest.

“They have a table there, and they always keep it reserved for me right here at the end,” Jones said one day last month while dining with his wife and other family members. “When somebody sits there, they kick them out and we sit there.”

With loyal customers like Jones, the Maxwell House in the West Central Neighborhood at the corner of Maxwell and Ash is one of the oldest restaurants in Spokane. Originally built in 1905 as a meat market, grocery store and plumbing center, it has gone through three eras of ownership, with its most recent purchase being just a little over three years ago, right before the pandemic.

The restaurant solidified from the hybrid of different stores into the restaurant known today in 1934. The Maxwell House has the “oldest legal liquor license” in Spokane, co-owner Ethan Higa said. He said that in 1935, “right after prohibition ended in Washington, they got their liquor license. And that was the first liquor license that went out.”

Higa and Alex Springer, the other current co-owner of the Maxwell House, took over in early 2020. Richard and Kay Culnane were the previous owners for more than 50 years, overseeing the first major renovations in the 1970s.

“The broasted chicken has been famous for years. We like to think we have the best broasted chicken in Spokane,” Higa said. “People have been coming for 50 years for that same broasted chicken.”

But Higa and Springer are dedicated to keeping the restaurant in the best shape possible, while still retaining the original feel.

“We really didn’t wanna change the Maxwell House. All we’re doing is fixing things that needs to be fixed,” Higa said. “I’ve seen a lot of bars all over the place. I’ve lived in multiple different states in my life. I see old bars that kinda get turned into new bars, which lose their old-school feeling.”

Updates are inevitable, though.

“This is a well-over-100-year-old building – things are breaking,” Higa said. “Things break every week.”

“We’re talking big things. You know, our walk-in (fridge) will go down, our freezers will go down, someone throws a volleyball at the window and breaks the window,” Higa said.

The age and limited major remodels of the establishment are helpful when problems arise.

“We were expecting asbestos, and we got it checked out and there wasn’t any,” Higa said.

Asbestos was used primarily from the 1930s to 1970s, which postdates the construction of the Maxwell House.

“So because this building is so much older, and they didn’t do a remodel during that time, you know, that’s where a lot of places get asbestos,” Higa said.

But there’s more to the Maxwell House than its deep history.

The restaurant has what was previously a “big dirt area,” according to Higa, but that was made into a small volleyball court by the previous owners.

“The volleyball court is one of the big reasons we took over this place,” Higa said. “It’s probably the nicest one at any bar in Spokane.”

“They just decided to put in a volleyball court, and over the years, the regulars – they’re the ones that have actually made it into what it is today.”

The Maxwell House has many of those longtime regulars.

“The best way I love to describe it would be a modern day Cheers bar. Everyone knows everyone’s name, and it’s become quite the intertwined family here,” Springer said.

Jones, for instance, is a World War II veteran who has been attending as a regular for 12 years. He has traveled around the world, being born in Canada, moving to America during his childhood and fighting in Europe and Korea.

He has lived in Spokane for more than 30 years. Despite the short amount of time relative to Jones’ long life, he has made a home for himself in the area and made the Maxwell House a near-daily staple in life.

His wife’s 90th birthday was held at the Maxwell House at the couple’s reserved booth, where Jones estimated he comes three to four times a week.

Chuck DeBruin, a retired local radio announcer, has been going to the Maxwell House for almost 50 years.

“The story goes he got a job here, and the radio station was right across the street or very close, and he just walked in one day and had a beer, and he’s been coming ever since,” Higa said.

DeBruin comes in five or six days every week, just for an after-shift beer.

“There’s a lot of different regulars that have been coming here for 20, 30, 40 years. A lot of them have stories about how their parents came here,” Higa said. “I’ve got a couple families that the grandfather, the dad and the son will all come here and have beers together.”