Their menu is a little Off The Wall, but there’s plenty for everyone

Pedestrians walking on downtown’s brick-lined Wall Street can find a new restaurant that will transport them to the 1990s.

Artists such as Britney Spears and Backstreet Boys provide the soundtrack to Off the Wall, where bright pop art lines the walls and neon lights encourage visitors to eat and imbibe. Smack-dab in the middle of the restaurant is a art-wrapped food truck, with cashless kiosks to order off the menu. Well, three menus, actually.

“We are a family of four,” said Off the Wall’s Katie Wade, who owns the eatery with husband Josh Wade. “We can never decide who wants what.”

With indecision in mind, the Wades offer El Medano (tacos, burritos and nachos), Chi-Dog (hot dogs, burgers and fries) and Fork & Bowl (soups and salads).

The restaurant’s design, crafted by Uptic Studios, was inspired by the couple’s travels to Chicago, Cabo San Lucas and Vegas, where they found the idea for an indoor food truck.

The cafeteria-style space is “almost like Saranac Commons,” Josh Wade said.

The Wades are well-versed in the Spokane dining scene. The couple owns Nectar Wine and Beer; Nectar Catering and Events; and BARK, A Rescue Pub. Other than opening BARK during the pandemic, the duo agreed Off the Wall was the wildest opening they’ve experienced.

“The first few days were chaos,” Josh Wade said of their late March opening. The turnout was bigger than expected, so the Wades closed shop for a few days while their staff (of now 20) trained up to prepare for the influx of customers.

“It was overwhelming,” Josh Wade said. “I had no idea the power of certain Facebook groups out there.”

The duo is used to creating fine-dining experiences, craft cocktails and elevated wine, but they hadn’t attempted such accessible food as seen at Off the Wall.

“We have fun, creative cocktails, simple draft beers for less,” Josh Wade said. “Nothing pretentious.”

The three food menus were crafted by Nectar chef Steven Swanson.

Top-selling by far is the inexpensive $5 smash burger, made with ground brisket and smashed up with American cheese, pickles, onions, shredded lettuce and special sauce. Other customer favorites include the carne asada tacos ($4 each) and the Thai mango salad ($10), which comes on a bed of baby spinach, with cabbage, carrot, diced mango, cilantro, green onion, chopped peanuts and sesame seeds topped with their housemade Thai dressing.

Favorite cocktails include the Off the Wall ’rita and the Lumpy Space Princess, a purple, sparkly concoction with cotton candy and a rim lined with pop rocks.

The family-friendly eatery allows kids until 9 p.m., when their menu switches over to late-night eats, which run until 11 p.m. weekdays or 11:59 p.m. Fridays through Saturdays.

“Nothing’s better than a burrito at 11 p.m.,” Josh Wade said.

Grab-and-go options will soon be available, just in time for Bloomsday. Naked hot dogs and burgers, as well as salads and rotating soups, will be ready-made for take-out.

“We just want the quick service,” Josh Wade said. “Get people in and out.”

So what’s behind the name – an otherwise common skateboarding phrase? Well, Katie Wade said, Off the Wall is right off Wall Street and they’re a little wacky.

Off the Wall opens at 11 a.m. daily at 121 N. Wall St. in downtown Spokane.