The Dirt: Fish and Chips joint planned for Spokane

A Spokane resident is looking to bring a taste of Britain with his new restaurant.

“We’ve always wanted to open a restaurant and showcase the thing we’re most proud of in the U.K. – fish and chips,” said Mark Twigg, prospective owner of Twiggy’s Fish and Chips.

“You can get good fish and chips here in Spokane, but we wanted to open a traditional British fish and chip shop that offers everything a chip shop in Manchester offers, done the British way.”

Twigg said the menu will include traditional items such as cod and chips made with a homemade batter, hand-cut chips, homemade tartar sauce, traditional mushy peas, curry sauce, gravy, sausages, battered sausages and more.

Twiggy’s Fish and Chips is planned to be located at 1505 N. Ash St., immediately north of Maxwell House Restaurant and near the A.M. Cannon Aquatic Center.

Growing up in Manchester, England, Twigg would have a fish and chip supper every Friday night. He would even sometimes eat it for school lunch, he said. Since moving to Lilac City three years ago, he and his wife, Maureen Torphy, and two children have been saving to open a shop.

“We really wanted a good chippy here in town. We’ve been saving for a while and now we’re ready to open up a chippy and offer Spokane a little taste of the fish and chips from the UK that we love,” he said.

Twigg and Torphy, who grew up in Denver, both went to culinary school and believe they found the perfect location for their prospective restaurant.

A remodel of the 864-square-foot building should take a few months, Twigg said.

Twiggy’s is planned to open in February or March, he said.

Union Gospel Mission planning new centers

Plans have been submitted to the city of Spokane to build women’s and children’s centers near Union Gospel Mission of the Inland Northwest location.

Union Gospel is a national-reaching Christian nonprofit that provides emergency aid and long-term support for people experiencing homelessness, poverty and addiction, according to its website.

The Inland Northwest arm of the organization is looking to build centers in the West Central neighborhood and the Logan neighborhood near Gonzaga University, plans show.

Located at 2826 W. Dean Ave., officials are looking to construct a two-story building consisting of a children’s center and apartments for a women’s shelter, plans show.

The nonprofit purchased the lot for $350,000 in January 2024, Spokane County property records show. The property is across the street from their Anna Ogden Hall location which operates as a women’s recovery center at 2828 W. Mallon Ave.

According to plans for the new building, the main floor will include 5 to 6 classrooms, restrooms and a lounge area. The upper floor will include 4 to 6 apartment units with either one or two bedrooms for a women’s center, plans show.

According to Steve Ellison, director of development for the organization, several single family homes nearby are used to house women and their children who have completed the Life Recovery Program.

“Once they have completed this two-year program, they can continue their journey through the UGM After Care Program,” he said. “We recently acquired the property on West Dean, and our plans include additional housing and safe gathering spaces for our residents of Anna Ogden Hall.”

The estimated cost of construction is $875,000.

At a different location, at 2411 N. Hogan St., officials are planning a chapel, plans show. Currently on the property is a single-family home which will be demolished, Ellison said. It is across the street from the UGM Women & Children’s Shelter at 1516 E. Illinois Ave.

“This house has been more of a transient house for some time and is in poor condition,” he said. “We plan to demolish the house and eventually construct a new chapel in its place, which will serve as a meeting space for the residents of the Women & Children’s Shelter across the street.”

The estimated cost of construction is $500,000.

Plans for both projects were submitted as part of the predevelopment process, which gives developers the opportunity to garner feedback from city building officials before applying for construction permits.

New plans for

Burlington warehouse

Developers have revealed new plans for the 141,600-square foot storefront at the Franklin Park Shopping Center on North Division Street.

The building, at 5830 N. Division St., had housed a Burlington Coat Factory, which relocated into a smaller space inside the same shopping center that had been vacated by Bed Bath and Beyond.

Earlier this month, developers submitted an application to the city of Spokane to remodel the space into a self-storage facility.

The project, dubbed Spokane Self Storage, would transform the two-story formal retail space into 926 self-storage units, according to plans.

The effort would involve a complete remodel of the space. Units will range from 25 to 375 square feet, plans show.

The retail-to-storage idea has occurred elsewhere.

A Burlington location in East Windsor, Connecticut, was purchased and converted to self-storage, according to the Hartford Business Journal. Another in Cathedral City, California, was purchased and turned into a storage facility for recreational vehicles, according to the Desert Sun.

According to the application, the remodel will cost an estimated $1 million to convert the space into a storage facility.

Ben Hawkins

purchased the 6.55-acre property along with Kevin Edwards, in January for $10.2 million, according to Spokane County property records.

The two are partners at their Spokane-based real estate investment firm Hawkins Edwards Inc.

The two developers hired Sea Con LLC, an Issaquah-based firm, to construct the facility. Seattle based Jackson Main Architecture designed it.