Late-night tea and coffee hub Lunarium supplies students, artists and night owls alike with a welcoming gathering place

In order to stand out against other coffee shops in Spokane, Lunarium has adopted a late-night, tea and coffee oriented concept that embraces an evening version of the cafe scene Spokane loves most.

Open from 5 p.m until midnight, Lunarium on any given night could host medical students cramming during finals, retired couples on date nights and even drag queens.

Lunarium began as a conversation between Dorian Karahalios and the owners of Twenty-Seventh Heaven Bakery. Karahalios and Aimee Clark had dreamed of bringing aspects of their lives to a place they could both call home, Spokane. Twenty-Seventh Heaven, closing at 1:30 daily, offered up their space to Karahalios and Clark to create a pop-up, late night coffee house.

“The pop-up has been nice, it has been getting people used to the concept that there’s something late night in Spokane,” Clark said.

Clark, who grew up in France, and Karahalios, who has traveled the world, found it enticing to create a menu with a melting pot of flavors that had been previously shared with them from varying stages in their lives.

“We wanted to pull our experiences into a place that was home for us,” Karahalios said. “To us, these are flavors that remind us of our childhoods and the nice parts of our lives. We wanted to focus on comfort. That’s why we call it globe-trotting comfort food. It’s not super fancy, but it’s unusual.”

Karahalios and Clark made it their mission to create a late-night lounge with a globe-trotting atmosphere. Lunarium hosts a menu that consists of no alcoholic beverages, but rather an assortment of quirky teas, coffees, homemade pastries, vegan and gluten-free options, and savory food that satisfies.

Lunarium’s tea-dominated menu features a range of offerings, including teas that are beginner friendly, foreign and even hand-blended by Karahalios and Clark.

To pair alongside tea, Lunarium offers gourmet grilled cheese on vegan bread, Asian-inspired avocado toast, homemade scones and jam by Clark, homemade craft sodas and a selection of coffee options.

With a plan to open a permanent location on Monroe Street in the air, Karahalios and Clark plan on extending their coffee and food menus.

Until the shop opens next fall, night owls can visit Lunarium from 5 p.m. to midnight Thursdays through Saturdays at Twenty-Seventh Heaven Bakery, 1220 S. Grand Blvd. For information, visit lunariumspokane.com/.