Delicious makeover: Kansas mural artist adds colorful garnish to popular Spokane eatery

When D. Lish’s Burgers owner Hunter Schertz stumbled upon pictures of Mindy Allen’s brilliant artwork on Facebook, he knew she would be the perfect chef to add a pinch of creative charm to the exterior facade of his North Division Street restaurant.

“She’s done a great job on everything that she’s worked on,” Schertz said. “We just liked her style, specifically.”

Specifically, Allen’s vibrant murals make a bold statement.

On her business website, mindysmurals.com, the Junction City, Kansas, woman offers a poignant slice of wisdom: “Live life in color!” She certainly walks that talk. A lifelong artist who once painted whimsical scenes on bedroom walls, Allen has now shifted her focus to outdoor surfaces. “I love doing things that are large, just really large scale,” she said. “When you paint a mural inside somebody’s house, the only people that see it are the people that live there. When you paint an exterior public wall, thousands and thousands of people see it.”

Especially when that canvas is 108 feet tall and 49 feet wide.

In 2024, with the help of her daughter and painting partner, Haley, Allen transformed an Inman, Kansas grain elevator into a towering mural depicting wheat harvest. At one point, the two women worked from a boom lift propped nearly 125 feet from the ground. So how did this Midwest artist end up 1,500 miles from home painting fast food on the outside wall of a small, Inland Northwest burger joint?

Allen’s trip to Eastern Washington evolved from a Spokane man’s dream.

Founded in 1998, D. Lish’s Burgers has earned a cultlike following due to the fresh, not frozen, vision of original owner, Dave Lish.

“We have a small menu, but we do it really well,” Schertz said. “We’ve got a lot of regular customers, a lot of people that come in and say, ‘I knew Dave when he was behind the cash register.’”

Dave Lish died after an ATV accident in 2008, but his legacy lives on.

In an effort to bring his local story full circle, a couple of years back, plans hatched for a restaurant remodel.

“We want to bring the vision to life. Someone had a dream and they did it, and here it is to this day,” Schertz said.

When the idea for an exterior wall mural emerged, Allen was offered the project.

She couldn’t have asked for a better gig.

With her son, Cole, located just two hours away in Thompson Falls, Montana, Allen quickly agreed.

“I get to work with my daughter, so being able to work in a place where I can still see my son and visit him as well is a bonus,” she said.

In preparation for the D. Lish’s job, Allen studied scores of Spokane photos online, but relished the opportunity to view the landmarks she would be painting, “in real life,” rather than just in image form.

Completed last August, the building-length mural depicts Dave Lish with his trademark handlebar mustache seated high atop of a Riverfront Park Looff Carrousel horse. His right hand holds a drink cup. Near the Spokane Pavilion, basketball players can be seen scrimmaging. A couple strolls in the background.

“They really wanted to focus on the different things about Spokane,” Allen said. “They also wanted it to be like kind of a fun sort of thing, so that’s how we got to where the gondola riders are hamburgers.”

Trees double as lettuce leaves and potato spears sprout in front of the Spokane Clock Tower. The colorful illustration is garnished with tomato and pickle slices.

Inside the restaurant, that nod to founder, Dave Lish, continues amid a red lobby motif. His pixelated black -and -white image looks on as you grab ketchup packets at the condiment counter. A lighted plaque details the burger guru’s story. The inside-out remodel even included new, exterior signage.

“Just kind of a revamp, refresh,” said Schertz, who was quick to point out, what stayed the same at this iconic eatery is equally important.

“None of the food has changed. That is what made D. Lish, D. Lish,” he said.

To get a true flavor for her work, Allen checked that menu out.

“Oh yeah, we had to eat the burgers and they were delicious,” she said.

An artist who thrives on travel and adventure, Allen hopes to land more gigs in the Spokane area.

“Lots of people don’t get to do the thing that they love. Art is something that I’ve always done and always loved doing,” she said. “Being able to work in places near my son … I would love to be able to have more of those jobs.”

Cynthia Reugh can be reached at cynthia13048@gmail.com.