MiFlavour moves into a home of its own

MiFlavour, the local wholesale and online bakery known for its French macarons and special occasion cakes, is opening its own storefront.

Plans call for the cafe to open in June in a completely remodeled space on East Sprague Avenue.

Meantime, husband-and-wife proprietors Maximus and Ella Piskun have already moved into the commercial bake shop in the back of the building. They’re planning to hold a soft opening to introduce a temporary walk-up, to-go counter on or around Feb. 1 – in time for Valentine’s Day – while they wait for work to be completed on the new cafe in the front of the building.

“We really want people to start coming in here,” Ella Piskun said.

The cafe encompasses about 1,500 square feet, the same size as miFlavour’s new stock room. The bake shop’s entire new space is 7,000 square feet. The kitchen alone is 3,500 square feet, or more than three times the size of the kitchen the Piskuns had been renting.

They moved into their new kitchen Jan. 1 after a four-month remodel. That was phase one.

Phase two, the build-out of the cafe, is already underway. That space will feature a 25-foot pastry case, marble floor tile and a “very chic, very clean, very contemporary, French bakery style,” Maximus Piskun said.

The cafe – modern, minimalist, done in black and white – is designed to make the desserts stand out. Along with pastries and other desserts, the cafe will also feature espresso, toast and sandwiches.

“We want to offer some breakfast items,” Ella Piskun said.

MiFlavour specializes in French macarons, mousse cakes, pâte à choux pastries, special occasion and custom cakes, and individual desserts. The bake shop also makes biscotti, brownies and bars, cookies, confections and cupcakes. Desserts are all individually identified, often with women’s names. Astrid is the Swedish princess cake, for example. Mina is miFlavour’s version of a Funfetti. Willow is a pistachio French macaron.

MiFlavour had been renting and sharing commercial kitchen space in the Montvale Event Center in downtown Spokane. “It was a good fit. We were thankful for it,” Ella Piskun said.

But, she said, the business has grown, and the bake shop now needs more space.

The new location also offers a consultation room, office, space for a walk-in oven, freezer and cooler – and room to grow. MiFlavour will now be able to accommodate more wholesale accounts as well as have space to offer baking and cooking classes on nights and weekends.

“We think this will be a really cool central spot for everything dessert,” Maximus Piskun said. It will be a place, he said, where people can “share their passion for baking and learn from one another. It’s really exciting. It’s like the perfect set up.”

The Piskuns had been looking for a storefront since they founded their bakery business two years ago. The East Sprague Avenue location offers free, off-street parking. And, soon, the building will also have a new facade.

The entire building is in the process of getting a facelift. Plans call for rustic wood paneling offsetting a sleek new design. The miFlavour storefront, which once housed a furniture store, will feature a wall of windows. “The whole building will look really nice,” Ella Piskun said.

Construction on the facade is slated to be complete before miFlavour opens its cafe, which will include outdoor seating.

MiFlavour’s new location is at 3403 E. Sprague Ave. Call (509) 426-5596. Email ella@miflavour.com. On the web: www.miflavour.com.