Indaba opens new coffee bar at Kendall Yards

Indaba Coffee Roasters has opened its latest location in what might seem like an unlikely spot: inside a running-shoe shop.

Fleet Feet and Indaba debuted their collaborative space with a soft launch Thursday in Spokane’s Kendall Yards development. The partners share a two-story building at 1315 W. Summit Parkway between Veraci Pizza to the west and the new Maryhill Winery complex to the east.

A grand opening is slated for February. But an exact date has not yet been set.

Indaba owner Bobby Enslow said Fleet Feet owner Wade Pannell approached him about a month or so ago with the idea for the collaboration.

“It’s just a good synergy for both of our brands,” Enslow said. “We’re both local Spokane people with a heart for Spokane.”

The first floor includes retail displays and racks for Fleet Feet running shoes and apparel as well as Indaba’s walk-up coffee counter with limited seating.

Most of the seating is located on the second floor, which offers north-facing views of Kendall Yards and the tower of the Spokane County Courthouse.

“Upstairs is perfect for meetings. There’s lots of nooks and crannies,” Enslow said.

Two-tops line the perimeter of the space, anchored by a rug rimmed by a couple of couches. They’re centered around a coffee table, along with a couple of armchairs. The ambiance and decor is light, bright and modern.

And the menu features “everything Indaba normally carries,” including pastries from Spokane’s Common Crumb Artisan Bakery and Boots Bakery and Lounge.

“Our goal for this location – like our other Indaba locations – is very much to be a third place, where people can meet for community events” – and business meetings or just to socialize. “We want it to be a launch point for community activities,” Enslow said, noting, “This could be a meet-up for running clubs and groups.”

Current hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Eventual hours are “probably” 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, Enslow said.

Indaba isn’t the only spot to get coffee in Kendall Yards. The Yards Bruncheon across the street serves espresso drinks in a diner-like atmosphere. Down the street to the east, the small Paper and Cup shop, which opened last summer, offers espresso drinks, pastries and sandwiches.

Tom Sawyer Country Coffee, on North Maple Street near West College Avenue, also serves the neighborhood. So does the new Cedar Coffee, which recently opened in the spot the used to house Coeur Coffeehouse on North Monroe Street.

But, even in a shared space, Indaba is now the biggest coffee shop on the main drag in the Kendall Yards business district, located on the east end of the development.

And soon, Kendall Yards will be home to two Indaba locations.

Enslow is planning to open another coffee shop – this one on the west end of Kendall Yards – as early as March or April. That new space, in a commercial building at 2341 W. Centennial Place, will become home to Indaba’s roasting operation, now housed in the brand’s original location at 1425 W. Broadway Ave. in Spokane’s West Central neighborhood.

This spring or summer, Indaba is also expanding its downtown coffee service. Enslow is planning to open a coffee kiosk in the Sky Bar area above the current downtown Indaba location at 210 N. Howard St.

He’s been keeping an eye on the Kendall Yards development since he founded Indaba in 2009. He lives in the West Central neighborhood with his wife and three children, not far from Kendall Yards.

“When we first opened, this (area) was just dirt,” he said. “It’s been really neat to see it come to life.”