Isabella’s plans rooftop dining

Rooftop and patio dining are staples of the American urban experience, but they’re a bit of a rarity in Spokane, despite the city’s ongoing love affair with urban renewal.

William Webster, chef and owner of Isabella’s Restaurant and Gin Joint in downtown’s east end, hopes to change that next month when he unveils a rooftop dining area at his new eatery, along with sidewalk seating on Main Avenue and courtyard dining at the back.

Webster, an East Coast transplant who has lived in Spokane for 12 years, says his vision for the restaurant was based in large part on alfresco dining.

“My biggest priority was the outside,” says Webster, who grew up in South Philadelphia and New Jersey.

“Outdoor dining is a must in big cities on the East Coast,” he says, noting the irony of a town filled with nature lovers and all-weather sports enthusiasts and the corresponding lack of open-air eateries.

“We live in a city that thrives on being outside, yet we have no outdoor seating.”

Webster says Isabella’s also will make use of another East Coast phenomenon – the rooftop garden, which will yield produce and herbs for the restaurant, even during the colder months.

“We’ve got some winter stuff up there now, and we’ll be working on some vegetables this week,” he says.

But while Isabella’s embodies many of Webster’s urban ideals, he says the restaurant is only the beginning.

“There are two things that downtown needs – a little hardware shop and an ice cream parlor,” says the former owner of Herbal Essence Cafe. “Every major metropolitan city has one.”

Webster admits he doesn’t know enough about either to run them, though he’d be happy to help fund both.

In the meantime, another project currently in the “mulling” stage is a private club and card room that would hearken back to the east end’s early days as a sort of red-light district.

“There is so much history to this part of town, and nobody wants to talk about it – the baths and the brothels,” he says.

Webster sees the private club as a cross between The Elk pub in Browne’s Addition and The Shop, an artsy coffee joint, gallery and live music space in the South Perry district.

His inspiration for the venue is based in part on the retro-chic coffee house in the film comedy “So I Married an Axe Murderer,” in which Mike Myers’ character pays homage to Jack Kerouac’s brand of Beat poetry (picture lots of mahogany, pipe smoke, berets and an abundance of avant-garde emoting).

But for now, Webster is simply relishing his part in the east side renaissance, an area where he hopes to spend more time.

Although he has a house on the north side, and a basement area at Isabella’s where he “crashes” on weekends, Webster is looking for permanent digs – a loft or condo.

“I just love the east side of town and I am so proud to be a part of something here.”