Popular Sandos drive-thru reopens under new owners

Sandos on Ash Street reopened Monday with new owners – a two-woman team carving their place into Spokane’s food and drink scene.

Betty Jessup and Paige Cunningham co-own the Maple Street Bistro, salad bar Fresh and Foraged, and now the drive-thru sandwich shop Sandos.

Monday was intended to be a “soft open” for Sandos to allow the team to get used to running the stand, Cunningham said.

But an afternoon post to a local food-finders group on Facebook led hungry Spokanites to line up for promotional free sandwiches and coffees. Cunningham had to run to the store before the 2 p.m. closing after running out of food.

“We eventually had to turn a couple people away because we were running low on product, but they were nice about it,” Jessup said. “They’re just happy Sandos is back open.”

Sandos was previously owned by Isaac Houger, but the shop closed windows and social media accounts in 2025, without public explanation.

Jessup and Cunningham jumped on the business when they saw it for sale last August. The drive-thru is in a great location, they reasoned, and the accompanying sandwich recipes are just as good.

“The reasons are different for both her and I,” Jessup said of their expanding business venture, “but I think I’ve gotten to the point where I want to take something and I want to make it better. I want to improve it.”

Cunningham is more interested in the relationships side of the businesses.

“I just love the employees, and so getting to create a safe, welcoming environment to work in is something that I pride myself on,” she said, adding later that she hopes to extend this environment to customers.

“That is something I really am looking forward to giving back to the community, just that excellent customer service, because I know that right now times are tough, and so anyone spending their money at any of our businesses is such a blessing that we don’t take for granted.”

The women met first in 2021, when Jessup hired Cunningham to work at Maple Street Bistro. Jessup had bought the bistro in 2019 off a Craigslist ad her coworker showed her (“which is weird,” she said as an aside). It was her first foray into business ownership.

“I just kind of poured my heart into this place,” she said. “And then Paige helped tremendously … we have really good strengths and weaknesses that kind of complement each other, so that’s why I promoted her quickly as manager.”

Though she loved her job at Maple Street Bistro, Cunningham had actually planned to move to Boise with her family last year when her husband got a new job. In a bid to keep Cunningham involved in the Spokane restaurant business, Jessup pitched the idea that the two become business partners, sharing ownership of the bistro. In hindsight, “I don’t know why I didn’t do it a long time ago,” she said.

“I’ve actually wanted to own a business since I was 16,” Cunningham said. “And so this absolutely amazing opportunity came up, and I brought that back to my husband and he was so supportive. He knew it was my dream.”

With two people running the business, Jessup said there was time to expand. In August, the pair bought Fresh and Foraged, a salad joint at 410 E Holland Avenue that had opened and closed multiple times since its 2021 establishment.

“It was already an awesome place, just like Maple Street, you know – well-loved, just needed somebody to come in and give it some TLC,” Jessup said. “So that’s what we did to Fresh and Foraged, and it’s gaining popularity. We’re getting busier and busier.”

Now, they’ve set sights on Sandos.

The biggest change to the menu is the addition of a full espresso bar with house-made syrups, “because we really thought that people would want their favorite coffee with their favorite breakfast sandwich,” Cunningham said.

There will also be pastries from Maple Street Bistro available for purchase at Sandos, and some “secret” menu items that were previously only available through DoorDash.

Jessup and Cunningham got feedback on their first day open that they were on the right track.

“For any business owner, you think when you’re opening a business, ‘It’s going to be slow,’ and you worry, ‘Am I doing everything right?’ Cunningham said. “And so to have that turnout was really heartwarming and definitely very made us feel very confident and excited in this next step.”