The Dirt: New operator remodels former Lantern tap house in South Perry; Gordy’s grows

A new operator is turning the lights back on in the space formerly occupied by the Lantern.

The South Perry tap house opened in 2009 at 1004 S. Perry St. as the Lantern Tavern. It changed hands in 2012 before expanding into an adjacent space formerly occupied by the Perry Street Cafe.

But Mike and Melinda Dolmage announced the neighborhood establishment’s permanent closure in January, after struggling with a loss of revenue and a series of break-ins during the pandemic.

Now, a new operator is planning  a $25,000 remodel.

Jim Ivers, governor of Perry and 10th LLC, which owns the building, said Jeremy Tangen will lease and operate the new tap house .

Tangen has been involved in operating a number of bars and restaurants in the Spokane area, including Borracho, Fast Eddies, the Red Wheel and Boombox Pizza.

Tangen did not respond to requests for comment about his plans.

The new business is known as the Grant Park Lantern in state Department of Revenue documents. 

According to permits filed with the city, the rehab will involve work on the tile, countertops, paint, floors, trim and other elements of the restaurant and bar.

Gordy’s Sichuan expanding

Gordy’s Sichuan Cafe is expanding, according to Leigh Riendeau, co-owner of the popular South Hill restaurant.

During the pandemic, Riendeau said, the restaurant “didn’t really miss a beat.”

With its admittedly cramped dining room, Gordy’s was already doing about half of its business to-go, she said. And the restaurant was able to keep its entire staff onboard after moving entirely to a take-out model.

But when the Aiki Spokane dojo moved out of the space next door, Riendeau and her fellow owners looked at it as an opportunity to spread out some.

The “extremely small” restaurant had been renting a studio apartment to store some dry goods that didn’t fit in its existing space at 501 E. 30th Ave., she said.

When the dojo’s storefront became available for a “comparable” price, Gordy’s owners decided to take the opportunity to take over the lease and stop paying for the apartment.

But Gordy’s plans to use the space for more than dry goods. It will also house office space, some additional tables and a waiting area with enough room for guests to have a glass of wine or beer until a table opens up.

As for the existing lobby area, it will be converted into a place to pick up to-go orders.

Riendau said work to open up the wall between the two spaces and remodel the dojo is underway but not complete.

Speaking the day after Gov. Jay Inslee unexpectedly announced the state will move to Phase 3 of its reopening on March 22, Riendeau said, “We didn’t think we were going to be at 50% (capacity) already.”

That’s good news, she said, and it’s also a motivating force.

“It’s game time, bro,” she said. “So we’ve got to get it going.”

Lot to be cleared for development

Spokane Riverside Partners LLC has applied for a permit to demolish a shuttered Umpqua Bank branch at 206 W. Riverside Ave., which is the proposed site of a 138-unit, six-story apartment building.

Seattle-based architecture and design firm GGLO filed a preliminary application with the city in November to potentially build the 129,000-square-foot mixed-use development on two parcels of land at 206 and 214 W. Riverside Ave.

The building is expected to include one- and two-bedroom units, 63 parking spaces and 1,250 square feet of lobby and amenity space. The construction cost is an estimated $22 million, according to documents filed with the city.

Spokane Riverside Partners LLC, whose principal is Kevin Edwards, associate of Spokane-based commercial real estate company Hawkins Edwards Inc., purchased the two parcels of land on Riverside for $1.4 million in 2019, according to the Spokane County Assessor’s Office.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify that the Lantern will be operated under a new name by a new person and is not reopening.