Iolite Lounge in Spokane Valley boasts ‘next-level’ cocktails, speakeasy vibes
Brandon Fenton, who has co-owned the Iolite Lounge in Spokane Valley for just over a year, says he’s always looking to try creative and different concepts for the cocktail lounge’s drink menu.
Iolite’s “teardrop” cocktails, for example, come in different colors and are served in globules of ice shaped like their namesake. The Blazing Apple is a tequila-infused concoction that, naturally, is set on fire. Meanwhile, one of Iolite’s earliest Instagram videos shows someone making an old-fashioned – by first injecting the liquor into a sphere of ice, then cracking the ice like an egg into a glass.
An elevated speakeasy vibe, with an emphasis on prep-heavy drinks and upscale presentability, was what Fenton was going for when the Iolite Lounge opened in October 2022 at 9614 E. Sprague Ave. The name continues the theme started by the next-door Black Diamond, which Fenton and his father, Wayne, have owned for around six years. The two ran for Spokane Valley City Council seats in 2021.
“Anytime I ever travel, I always try to find a place that’s like the downstairs basement or a place that’s not very well-known or hidden,” said Fenton, 41. “There are a few places downtown that kind of have that downstairs feel. I wanted to get something that was kind of like that.”
The Black Diamond billiard hall was rebranded as such in 2010 when Steve Legault purchased the former McQ’s Billiards and Sports Bar.
The space next door, however, was used only occasionally for parties and other events after the Fentons bought the business, Fenton said. He said the idea for the Iolite Lounge took shape last year when a carpet replacement project “snowballed” into a full-scale remodel.
“Coming to the Valley, there’s nothing really quite like this. You have to go downtown or you have to go to Coeur d’Alene, so we’re trying to get people down in the Valley or people that don’t want to go downtown … but want the same vibe or feel,” Fenton said. “We have a little bit of a heavier pour back here on the Iolite side, because we want people to get what they’re paying for.”
Fenton, an East Valley High School graduate who spent 20 years with the Washington Air National Guard, said he draws a lot of his inspiration for Iolite’s drink menu from molecular mixology and the Aviary, a cocktail lounge in Chicago. He keeps an Aviary cocktail recipe book behind the bar, detailing the lounge’s dabbles with molecular cocktails.
Iolite has a seasonal drink rotation, while the food menu has an emphasis on shareables with a few entrees. Larry Phelps is the chef for the Iolite Lounge and the Black Diamond.
Inspired by social media trends, Iolite also offers a Parmesan wheel dinner, a three-course tableside dining experience that includes pasta served out of a hollowed-out parmesan cheese wheel. The wheel dinner costs $175 for a group of four and must be reserved at least two days in advance.
“I feel like there’s not much (like this) in Spokane,” Fenton said. “You go to a typical speakeasy place. Yes, they’re playing around with syrups and gins and all sorts of stuff and have a lot of those classic kinds of cocktails, but I feel like we’re trying to do something that’s a little more next level.”
The speakeasy is available to host a range of private events, from holiday parties and birthdays to weddings and baby showers. Just recently, Iolite started hosting live music nights from 7 to 9 p.m. Fridays.
Looking ahead, Fenton said Iolite is hoping to add an outdoor stage and bar for outdoor concerts, starting next summer, as well as an expanded patio.
“The goal is to make the place a little more of a destination.
If you go Iolite Lounge Where: 9614 E. Sprague Ave., Spokane Valley When: 5 p.m.-midnight Wednesday through Saturday Info: ioliteloungespokane.com