Big Red’s is back in business.

Formerly a Spokane food truck dishing up Chicago-style cuisine out of the parking lot of Restoration Church on Sunset Boulevard, Big Red’s will now operate out of a brick-and-mortar restaurant in Colbert, within a half-hour drive north of downtown Spokane.

Curtis Bytnar, the owner and operator of Big Red’s food truck, and his wife, Leslie, acquired Colbert Trading Co., at 18711 N. Yale Road, and opened the restaurant under its new name, Big Red’s Colbert Trading Co., on Feb. 9.

“I just know everything’s going to grow this way,” Curtis Bytnar says of the area north of Spokane. “It’s always been my number one goal to get a brick-and-mortar (location).”

Under its previous ownership, the Colbert Trading Co. menu was centered around pizza and calzones. For now, Big Red’s will continue to focus on pizza and calzones, but with an updated menu and Bytnar’s own, Chicago-inspired recipes.

“We’re taking it to the next level,” Bytnar says.

In June, the couple anticipate bringing the food-truck trailer to the restaurant for additional kitchen space and plan to expand the menu to include all the favorites from the Big Red’s food truck—the Italian beef, cheesesteak, pepper steak, Chicago dog, bacon dog, garlic fries, and more.

The current space is built as a pizza kitchen and isn't equipped yet to handle the full Big Red’s menu.

Bytnar is also in the process of adding his own decor to the restaurant.

“We’re going to turn it into Chicago in here,” he says.

The Big Red’s food truck closed down in 2018 after about 10 years in business in the Lilac City, Bytnar says.

“It was just about finding my dream,” he says. “It took a few years, but here we are. Good things come to those who wait.”

Bytnar, with $50 in his pocket, started Big Red’s as a hotdog wagon in the downtown Spokane bar district. While operating the stand for almost four years, he saved up his money and eventually had a custom trailer built for the business.

Bytnar was born and raised in Chicago, living in the Windy City for 23 years. He has been in Spokane for 24 years now.

Prior to opening Big Red’s, Bytnar held sous chef roles at Hilton Hyatt Regency, in downtown Chicago, and at CI Shenanigans, a now-defunct Spokane seafood restaurant. He also served as an executive chef for Davenport Hotels, in Spokane, and at the Wolf Lodge Steakhouse, in Coeur d’Alene.

“I wanted to do my own thing,” he says. “I wanted to bring Chicago food to Spokane.”

Bytnar’s Chicago roots already are influencing the pizza at Big Red’s. The pizzas are all square cut, and the sausage and pepperoni is shipped in from Chicago, he says. Bytnar makes all the sauce and dough from scratch.

At some point, the Bytnars plan to add a new oven that would enable them to make deep-dish pizza, a Chicago classic.

“Right now, I’m focusing on more like a Corleone, which is similar to a deep dish, but it’s more like a Sicilian pizza—thicker dough, square. Kind of like Rocky Rococo’s.”

Most ingredients used in the sandwiches, hot dogs, and other menu items that will be implemented in June will come from either Chicago or Philadelphia, Bytnar says.

Big Red’s also offers beer and wine selections.

Leslie Bytnar says the response on social media since announcing the return of Big Red’s has been huge. She says over the past several years, people would recognize her husband and come up to them at stores to ask if or when he was bringing Big Red’s back.

Some people would even show up at the front door of their North Spokane home, where the Big Red's trailer was parked out front, asking when he was going to open again.

“For being away for so long, and then to get that response, it’s like, ‘Wow, they remembered me,’” he says. “It’s an overwhelming feeling.”

Because of the following that he has built up over the years, Bytnar expects to draw a lot of customers from Spokane, despite the restaurant being located north of the city.

The new Big Red’s occupies a historic Colbert building. Built in 1885, the structure originally housed the town’s post office, Bytnar says.

The building also includes a large outdoor patio area and bar, as well as a stage that will continue to host live music performances during warm-weather months.

It also has operated at least partially as a convenience store in the past, including under the most recent owner.

The Bytnars are keeping a small convenience store-like section in the restaurant, complete with soda, beer, candy, and other snacks. Big Red’s also will continue offering ice cream like the previous owner did.

In addition to the Bytnars, Big Red’s has two part-time employees, although they say more will be needed as they add the food-truck trailer and start serving more food items.

The restaurant offers take-and-bake options for pizza and calzones, and offers delivery through third-party delivery services, including Uber Eats.

Big Red’s is open 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Small Bites

The Arc of Spokane will celebrate the grand opening of its new North Spokane thrift store, at 11008 N. Newport Highway, on Friday, March 1, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Included in the festivities will be a gift card scavenger hunt, an adaptive school supplies drive for local students, and sips and sweets. The Arc of Spokane is a nonprofit dedicated to supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families.

National grocer Trader Joe’s is planning a new store in Coeur d’Alene, at 303 E. Spokane, the Coeur d’Alene Press reported earlier this month. The proposed site is currently the location of Runge’s Furniture, which the Press reports is downsizing and changing operations, allowing for Trader Joe’s to occupy most of the building.