North Spokane salad restaurant Fresh & Foraged LLC, located at 410 E. Holland, is back in business after it had closed in November, and subsequent negotiations to sell the business stalled.

Fresh & Foraged owner Sarah Davis says she decided to shut down operations just over a year after its original opening because the business was “hemorrhaging money” due to labor costs.

Spokane Salad Delivery LLC, which opened a storefront in the Numerica Building downtown in summer 2022, had been in negotiations to buy Fresh & Foraged, Davis says.

That deal fell through, however, when Spokane Salad closed, she says. Spokane Salad’s website was inactive as of earlier this week, and a Google search shows the company as permanently closed. 

Davis declines to disclose further details regarding negotiations with Spokane Salad. After negotiations ceased, however, Davis and Fresh & Foraged general manager Cara Ortega decided to make some changes and give the business another chance. They reopened Fresh & Foraged on May 3.

Ortega, who handles day-to-day operations, says she was able to retain the restaurant’s seven-person staff, but employees are working fewer hours now to control labor costs. Before closing, four to six employees were working at any given time. Now, Ortega says, there are typically just two employees working at a time.

“We cut payroll by 35%,” Ortega says.

She says she also has streamlined various processes to make operations more efficient. For example, salads are now made directly in the containers that are served to customers, rather than in stainless steel bowls. This eliminated the need for a dishwasher position, she says.

“I felt confident in the changes I could make,” Ortega says. “I could see my mistakes so clearly—where we were losing money.”

Davis says she originally opened Fresh & Foraged after being inspired by Crisp Salads, a Portland, Oregon, restaurant, and she bought the “blueprint” from Crisp to take parts of the business model and menu back to Spokane.

Davis says she’s passionate about healthy eating, and the menu at Fresh & Foraged is reflective of that. She says the restaurant offers dairy-free dressing options, cooks with extra-virgin olive oil, and uses honey and pure maple syrup, as opposed to sugar.

Focusing mainly on salads is uncommon in the Spokane area, Davis says.

“It’s not unique, though, to places like California or Oregon,” she says.

She adds, however, that some places in the Spokane area that do feature salads use untraditional ingredients, and in some cases, vegetables she hasn’t even heard of.

“I want it to be a little more traditional,” Davis says of Fresh & Foraged.

Fresh & Foraged serves up more than just salads, however. It also offers hot bowls, such as chickpea chili and Thai yum curry soup. Other options include baked potatoes, acai bowls, avocado toast, and oatmeal.

Ortega says she’s working on growing the company through catering services.

“That’s where I’m focused right now, is to get that catering to businesses,” Ortega says.

Since reopening, she has been encouraged by the response from the restaurant’s customer base, she says.

“I got so many sad messages from customers,” she says. “It’s been really cool to see how many people really want to support small business and get excited about food.”

Davis, who also owns 11 coffee stands in the Spokane area, including the Blissful Blends chain, says she’d like to open more Fresh & Foraged locations in the future, and she sees the South Hill as an ideal place for another salad shop.

Fresh & Foraged offers delivery through DoorDash, Grubhub, and Uber Eats. It is open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Small Bites

*Spokane-based tea manufacturer and retailer Revival Tea Co. is opening a tasting room and boba bar in downtown Coeur d’Alene, at 201 N. First. The store will feature tea flights, tea mocktails, and a full boba bar. It will be open 9 a.m.-9 p.m. daily. According to the company’s Facebook page, the new location will have a grand opening on Saturday, June 24.

*Spokane Treasure Trove, a new Spokane-based vintage toy, collectibles, and candy store, has leased a 2,000-square-foot retail space formerly occupied by the Spokane Art School, at 811 W. Garland, where the company has opened a storefront location. The three-level store is open 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, according to a YouTube video posted by the company.

*Provo, Utah-based Sub Zero Nitrogen Ice Cream has opened a franchise location inside Triple Play Family Fun Park, at 175 W. Orchard, in Hayden. The family-run ice cream shop uses liquid nitrogen to flash freeze the ice cream right in front of customers. The shop is open Monday through Saturday with varying hours.