Color Scheme

Subscribe now

The Dish: Bijou opening South Hill bar, plus Common Language Brewing, Hillyard hijinks and Wanderlust Delicato

It’s intoxicologist Dakota Goldman’s call with this Four Roses Bourbon concoction at Bijou in Browne’s Addition in April. (Don Chareunsy/The Spokesman-Review)
It’s intoxicologist Dakota Goldman’s call with this Four Roses Bourbon concoction at Bijou in Browne’s Addition in April. (Don Chareunsy/The Spokesman-Review)
By Kris Kilduff For The Spokesman-Review

It’s a redo for Bijou! If you are a sucker for scintillating spirits, you’ve probably visited Bijou in Browne’s Addition off Sunset Highway. If you haven’t and you live on the South Hill, you’re in luck because Bijou’s second space is being summoned to a neighborhood near you.

A friend close to the project told me that 29th and Regal next to Miller’s Hardware will be the newest location. This will be a huge win for owners Shelanya and Tyson Skidmore, who have an amazing concept that just often lacks the space needed for a demanding public.

Make sure to also peruse Bijou’s selection of cocktail bitters to take home to your personal bar.

It’s Common sense

One of the many casualties our food and alcohol industry had from COVID-19 was the loss of downtown’s River Rock Taphouse, which wasn’t open very long and never gained a real footing. Now it seems the space will be home to Common Language Brewing.

Spokane’s downtown beer scene has exploded over the last handful of years. It’ll be interesting to see what owner Sean Owens and his team brings to the table to differentiate its brand from the sea of competitors. Either way, if they are brewing hops, they are speaking my language.

Hillyard hijinks

I was shopping recently at the closing sale of the Hillyard Antique Mall and was told once they vacate the building, it was going immediately under construction to be repurposed as a “commons-style” facility for upcoming Hillyard businesses.

After asking around, there have been rumblings about a few restaurants and a brewery to headline the shared space in hopes of attracting shoppers to a thrift-heavy district.

With the recent addition of the food truck court and a few new business openings, is Hillyard poised to be the next neighborhood to get a facelift?

Cheese, please

In 2018, Amber Park opened her gourmet cheese and wine shop Wanderlust Delicato on Main, and it has been met with loads of public praise. She has since brought in some very exclusive products, added cooking classes and now has developed a monthly cheese club.

For $50, you receive three privately curated cheeses brought in solely for members. Members recently enjoyed a turmeric-laden Italian table cheese called Tumerictoma, cave-aged buttermilk Basque made with 100% sheep’s milk and super-soft, melt-in-your-mouth Blu de Capra from the Piedmont District in Italy.

You can sign up to be a member at Wanderlust Delicato’s website wanderlustdelicato.com.

The Dish is Spokane’s whisperings about the happenings in the Inland Northwest’s food and beverage scene. Its author, Kris Kilduff, can be reached at kris.kilduff56@gmail.com.