Every winter during the slowest period of the year for restaurants–between Valentine's Day and Mother's Day—Inland Northwest eateries showcase culinary skill and spirit in the annual anticipated event, Inlander Restaurant Week. 

The 10-day event, which started Feb. 22 and ends March 2, involves participation from 127 restaurants comprised of taverns, steakhouses, cafes, diners, and microbreweries, to name a few.

The annual event encompasses the area stretching from Airway Heights to Coeur d'Alene and draws visitors from the region and across the Pacific Northwest for a chance to explore the region's gastronomy scene. 

Tamara McGregor, communications and event director for Inland Publications Inc. doing business as Pacific Northwest Inlander, the weekly publication that coordinates Restaurant Week, says the annual event celebrates the region’s culinary talent and works as a boon during the industry’s slowest period.

“If you look at the restaurants that are participating in Restaurant Week, they’re independently, locally owned businesses,” she says. “And those local businesses support school auctions. They support our tax base more robustly and make investments in our community the way a national chain doesn’t. And it makes it a much better place to live when it’s uniquely us.” 

Kate Hudson, public relations manager for Visit Spokane, says Inlander Restaurant Week has become akin to other celebrated Spokane events like Bloomsday and Hoopfest, which people look forward to every year.  

“And it’s good for our community and good for visitation," Hudson says. "Tourism is a $1.4 billion industry in Spokane County that provides $1,000 in tax relief to every household. Anything that supports visitation in Spokane is something we’re happy to be a part of." 

The Inlander and Visit Spokane first launched the annual event in 2013, initially naming it Spokane Restaurant Week and featuring 53 restaurants. Soon after, McGregor and the Inlander staff received feedback from Coeur d’Alene and North Idaho eateries that wanted to participate as well. The name of the event was then changed to Inlander Restaurant Week the following year to include the larger region, she says. This year, the town of Athol will participate for the first time with one establishment, Sweet Lou's Restaurant & Tap House. 

McGregor and her husband, Jer McGregor, general manager and co-owner of the Inlander, were vacationing in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico during that city’s Restaurant Week event and were inspired to create the event here. Her brother-in-law and publisher of the Inlander, Ted McGregor, had also been thinking of establishing the event in the Inland Northwest. 

The purpose of creating the event was twofold: to raise the profile of the region as a culinary destination and to inject an economic boost into the industry, says McGregor. The first Restaurant Week reportedly was launched in New York City in 1992 and has since spread to cities across the around the world.

When the McGregors were considering starting the event here, cities like Portland, Oregon, were growing in popularity for their food scenes. 

“Food had really put Portland on the map and was making it a destination for businesses, young people, and talent to move to because of this dynamic culinary community,” she says. “And (in Spokane) we were starting to see some really good restaurants and chef-driven restaurants come about.” 

The Inlander team, a full-time staff of 32, begins planning for the event every September. The news organization sends articles on best practices to participating restaurants, considering food costs and labor, and encourages them to begin crafting their specialized three-course menu that will be featured during the event. In the first week of January, the Inlander team will edit copy for the menus and host a photo shoot where a dozen chefs are invited to the Inlanders’ studio to have their dishes videotaped and photographed. The event guide is published a couple of weeks before the event and is typically the publication's largest print run each year at 71,000 copies. Visit Spokane markets the event outside the region, while the Inlander markets within the Inland Northwest. Liberty Lake-based STCU is a presenting sponsor and is involved heavily in promoting the event within the credit union's branch locations, says McGregor.

Hudson says the event is a draw for the region's drive market, a 250-mile radius that includes western Montana, northern Idaho, the Tri-Cities, Yakima, Seattle, and Portland, Oregon. 

“It’s a great way to discover new businesses and restaurants in the Spokane area. But to see it change over the years, it’s only gotten bigger and more popular. It’s been fun for me to watch,” she says. 

Inlander Restaurant Week has a few things unique to the Inland Northwest event including an event guide that hits stands weeks before the event and a drink-local component that encourages restaurants to partner with wineries, breweries, and other Inland Northwest beverage makers, McGregor says. 

The event guide is filled with the participating restaurants' menus, current food trends, and sets the stage to tell the stories of the region’s chefs, including their training, their interests, and how they craft their Restaurant Week menus. 

“We really want people to think of our area as a great culinary destination,” she says. “The guides don’t just showcase their menus but offer a storytelling opportunity that helps people better understand the event.” 

Looking back at some of the event guides earliest profiles, one can follow many chefs’ career paths, she says.    

Chef Adam Hegsted, owner of the Eat Good Group Restaurants which consists of six local eateries including Baba restaurant in Kendall Yards and Francaise in the South Perry District, was profiled the first year of the event and was working in another restaurant owner's kitchen at the time. Years later, he’s become a restauranteur, been named a semi-finalist for the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef Northwest award, and been featured on The Food Network.

Other chefs who have received national recognition for their craft include Chad White, owner of the award-winning ceviche bar, Zona Blanca, and Tony Brown, owner of Ruins in downtown Spokane. Both chefs also have received national acclaim and have been semi-finalists for the Best Chef Northwest award from the James Beard Foundation. 

“I think that’s the type of growth you want for a community,” McGregor says. “For me to watch the growth of someone like Adam (Hegsted) and see the impact he’s having on the community by bringing different experiences and different flavors in, I hope we have been a part of that.” 

This year’s guide includes interviews with chefs Deepika Dhawan, owner of Karma and India House;  Avont Grant, of Dry Fly Distillery; and Naomi Boutz, owner of Vine & Olive and Vicino Pizza. 

For the drink-local component, the Inlander asks restaurants to include Inland Northwest beverage producers on their menus to highlight the work and products they offer, McGregor contends. 

“From the start, we’ve highlighted places like One Tree Cider, Maryhill Winery, and No-Li,” she says. 

McGregor adds that she’s also witnessed the evolution of breweries and wineries from only offering beverages to expanding their kitchens and participating in the event. Those establishments include places like Lumberbeard Brewing, just east of downtown Spokane, and Uprise Brewing Co., in Kendall Yards, she says. Maryhill Winery, an event partner, also  has expanded its kitchen and is participating in the event. 

The event also makes an effort to support hospitality workers, McGregor says. This year, each menu features a QR code in which patrons can donate to two nonprofits that offer aid and resources to hospitality workers in the region: Spokane-based Big Table, and CDAIDE in Coeur d’Alene. Spokane-based Avista Foundation will match donations up to $10,000, McGregor says. 

“Hospitality workers (serve) our fourth largest industry here,” McGregor says. “But they are also likely to not have benefits like health insurance. Big Table and CDAIDE are two wonderful organizations that provide anything from assistance with car trouble so employees can get to work, to addiction counseling, mental health services, and dental.”