Daiquiri bar, dance club planned in core

Pendleton Enterprises LLC, doing business as Spokane Downtown Daiquiri Factory, plans to open soon as a bar and hip-hop club in the city’s core.

Owner Jamie Pendleton says the new business is leasing about 3,800 square feet of space at 121 N. Wall that previously was occupied by Beignets Et Le Café, a European-inspired restaurant.

Pendleton also owns 104.5 Jamz FM, a hip-hop radio station here.

He says Spokane Downtown Daiquiri Factory will offer 15 flavors of daiquiris, a full-service liquor bar, and food menu. The bar also will have a hip-hop disc jockey and dance floor, he adds.

Pendleton says the venture here is being modeled after daiquiri bars that are popular in the South and other parts of the U.S. with young adults ages 21 to 25. He says he expects to hire between four and six employees.

 “A lot of people in Spokane want to go dance, but there aren’t a lot of places to go, and then we can showcase the radio station as well,” he says. “We don’t really have a hip-hop footprint downtown, and that’s really what I want to do.”

He says the business is investing $6,000 to $8,000 for a basic remodel of the space, and it has a seven-year lease. Pendleton expects that the bar will be open Thursdays through Sundays at first and will be open every day by spring.

—Treva Lind 

Burger restaurant to open in Cd’A

Nathan Schmidt, a Coeur d’Alene restaurateur, has leased 2,200 square feet of floor space at 206 N. Fourth in Coeur d’Alene for a new restaurant, to be named Schmidty’s Burgers. 

Schmidt says he and his wife Denise Hodges, who will co-own of the restaurant, are hoping to open Schmidty’s by Feb. 4. 

The menu isn’t complete yet, but items will include a selection of nine different burgers, chicken sandwiches, and salads, he says.

“Everything will be fresh,” Schmidt says. “Nothing will be frozen.”

The house specialty will be the Schmidty Burger, which will have a bit more spice than most burgers, he says.

Schmidt, who had managed a Denny’s restaurant in Post Falls for eight years, says Schmidty’s likely will employ two or three people besides the owners. He adds that his wife grew up in the food business and has been a food server for six years.

The restaurant space formerly was occupied by Scrud’s Gourmet Grub, which has relocated to Ogden, Utah.

Craig Hunter and Rob Kannapien, both of Coldwell Banker Commercial Schneidmiller Realty, handled the lease.

—Mike McLean

CPA firm unites offices at new site

Spokane accounting firm Stewart-Longhurst PS has moved to an office space at 323 E. Second, east of downtown, combining two offices formerly located at 1113 E. Westview Court on the North Side and at 5915 S. Regal on the South Hill.

Office manager Amber Siegel says the firm’s new quarters have 2,200 square feet of floor space. The former North Side office was about 2,000 square feet of floor space, and the South Hill site was about 1,000 square feet, she says.  

Siegel says the firm, which was established in 1992, decided to move because it wanted to combine its two offices and be in a location that was more central. 

The firm is owned by Greg and Hanna Stewart-Longhurst, Siegel says, and is a full-service certified public accountant firm.

“We specialize in small business, corporate taxes, personal taxes, payroll, quarterly reports, bookkeeping, and other accounting services,” Siegel says. 

The new office space is being leased from owners Bob and Sue McVicars through Spokane real estate brokerage NAI Black, Siegel says. The firm has five full-time employees year-round, she says, and up to 10 during the tax season. 

—Katie Ross

Mother-son duo buys longtime deli

The mother-and-son team of Esma and Adnan Hatkic have bought the assets of longstanding Alpine Deli and have reopened it after a minor remodel. 

Werner Gaubinger and his wife, Carole, opened the deli in 1976 and had operated it until selling it to the Hatkics at the end of the year. 

Adnan Hatkic says the deli will retain its name and location at 417 E. Third, just east of downtown Spokane. He says he and his mother have offered jobs to all five Alpine Deli employees who worked for the Gaubingers, but still are waiting for a reply from one. 

Also, the new owners will be keeping the German menu and most of the products in the 2,400-square-foot deli the same, but they have removed the beer and wine section. Hatkic says they decided to stop selling alcohol because of competition from other retailers.

The Hatkics have expanded the baked goods selection, adding homemade cannoli, cakes, and cookies. 

On the lunch menu, the new owners plan to add more offerings. 

“We’re keeping everything the same, and then down the road we’ll implement some more European items,” Hatkic says. The family is originally from Bosnia, he says, and would like to add Bosnian cuisine in particular. 

The family, Hatkic says, decided to buy the deli after a chance encounter. 

“My mom just drove past in March and saw it was for sale,” he says. “We talked about it for a while and decided to go with it.”

This is the family’s first time in the food-service business, Hatkic says. His father operates a trucking business called Hatkic Trans. Family members and friends helped with the remodeling, which included laying new carpet and repainting. 

For the future, Hatkic says he and his mother would like to add a catering service. He also says they plan to expand the kitchen and add more commercial appliances.

—Katie Ross