A buttery biscuit bonanza can be found at Sporks Biscuit Bar

Sporks are multifaceted. You can slurp up soup or use them to chow down on salad. They also, at least to Doyle Wheeler, possess a nostalgic element.

The versatility, nostalgic feel and simplicity of a spork is exactly why Wheeler named his biscuit bar after the hybrid utensil that combines a spoon’s bowl with shortened tines of a fork.

Suspended high above the streets of Spokane, in the city’s skywalk system, Sporks Biscuit Bar opened in August, offering elevated fluffy, buttery biscuits.

“We’re trending towards 250 (biscuits) a week, and we’re opening another location, so we’ll be, you know, biscuits for the people,” Wheeler said.

Wheeler owns First Avenue Coffee and said the decision to open a biscuit bar began a year and half ago when they started making steaming, golden treats at their coffee shop. The biscuits blew up, and after a while, he realized that biscuits with just butter and jam were boring. They needed to make something fancier, more elaborate; something people couldn’t find at the McDonald’s drive-thru.

“To be honest, one of my guilty pleasures is the bacon, egg and cheese biscuit at McDonald’s,” Wheeler said. “So we started making these biscuits and I was going, ‘Why would I even think that’s a fun purchase when you can just make it better here?’ “

He said Sporks isn’t trying to compete with the $200 billion fast food joint dawned with golden arches. Rather, they’re trying to let biscuit connoisseurs, like those who stay at the Davenport, enjoy the best biscuit they’ve ever had.

“They’re the ones saying it, not me,” Wheeler said.

The menu includes smoked brisket biscuit with black pepper frittata topped with cheddar cheese priced at $14, or a more simple, buttered biscuit with jam for only $6.

Located above Numerica Credit Union at Riverside Avenue and Stevens Street, Wheeler said the majority of his customers are business people, often coming from insurance agencies and law offices. He said there have been numerous times where he’s seen passersby do a double-take after seeing the welcoming, literal hole-in-the-wall that is Sporks.

He hopes to encourage more residents to swing by, but said, due to their location, it can be difficult to garner attention from people on the street level. A variety of signs point meanderers on the street toward the Sherwood Building, up the elevator and around the bend to Sporks. Despite the lack of street visibility, Instagram and other people posting on social media go a long way to draw eyes to the biscuit bonanza happening at Sporks.

Sporks also sells handheld salads for $3, tacos, sandwiches and infused Redbull energy drinks.

But their staple takes center stage.

Between biscuits and gravy, their Monte Cristo biscuit and their OG biscuit, there’s all sorts of tender treats to choose from, all of which are made fresh every single day at First Avenue’s bakery.

Currently, Sporks is open Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. They plan to open on Saturdays soon. Wheeler said it’s possible that no one shows since the office buildings in the Sherwood are vacant on Saturdays, but still, it’s worth a try.

“You can eat this biscuit all by itself, and it’s going to blow your mind,” Wheeler said. “But then you add the ingredients into it, it’s even better.

“I love the element of surprise. Like, you don’t just go to the gas station, buy a cup of coffee and think it’s good. You’re getting it because you need to get buzzed up and stay on the road. When you go to a coffee shop, there’s expectations. When you go to a biscuit bar, you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into. So we have that element of surprise.”