North Spokane's Newest Hangouts Still Look Like the Old Buildings

"The building literally says 'brewery' on it."

That's Emily Peterson, owner of HoneySpell Cafe, explaining to the Inlander how more than 100 people found her café on its first day without an open sign out front. She was quoted $1,400 to take down the old Hop Chaos Brewing sign, and for now it stays up.

Other new spots on the north side follow the same pattern. Since July, several places built for sitting a while have opened or expanded on the north side and in the Garland District, and each one grew out of something already in place. One owner finished a renovation someone else had started. Another moved into a closed brewery's suite. A third outgrew a home kitchen after building a following through porch drop-offs and craft fairs. Driving down Francis, Newport Highway or Wall, you could easily miss all of them, because from the street they still look like the businesses that came before.

A Photo Studio on Francis, Finished by Someone Else

For years, 727 W. Francis Ave. was Green Gables Photography, a white, historic-style building that turns up in a lot of Spokane family photos. The studio closed in 2021.

The next chapter started under different owners. The former coffee-shop planners leased the building at the start of 2025 to open a coffee shop and got as far as a coffee bartop and a brick accent wall with a fireplace. When that plan fell through, Matt Oliver took over the space and finished it as Grounded Gardens, a plant shop and coffee bar that opened July 21.

Oliver started from the plants, and the coffee came second. He told the Inlander that "the business plan was to add coffee to get people to stick around to look at the plants." That order shows up in small decisions. Cups come in two sizes only, 12 ounces for hot drinks and 16 for cold, so he doesn't have to store extra cup stock in space he'd rather use for plants. On-site food prep is limited because soil and plants are stored in the back.

What to order:

• Coffee milk, $4.50. It's Rhode Island's official state drink and a nod to Oliver's Rhode Island origins. He describes it as lightly caffeinated coffee syrup that tastes like chocolate syrup with coffee flavor.
• Matcha, $6.50, from Indaba Coffee Roasters, which also supplies the coffee beans. Espresso drinks run $3 to $5.75.
• Chai, $5.75, from Mandala Chai Co.

Seating is at the counter, a few tables, a leather sofa and a fenced patio on the west side of the building. The south-facing fence on that patio is still lined with old Green Gables backdrops. If you ever had a family portrait taken at that address, there's a fair chance one of those backdrops is in it.

A Brewery Suite on Newport Highway, Painted Blue and Gold

Hop Chaos Brewing Company closed in April 2025, leaving empty the southernmost suite of a multitenant building at 10115 N. Newport Highway. Los Habaneros and Eddie's Kitchen & Tavern are in the same building, just west of Northpointe Plaza. Peterson toured about a dozen spaces before she chose this one, and the Spokane Journal of Business reported that she knew right away it fit what she had in mind.

She rented the space in July and opened September 12. In between, she did almost all of the work herself, from painting and branding to making the trinkets on the shelves. The one exception was carrying in the espresso machine. She had also run Page 42 Bookstore, and the Journal reported that she drew on that experience when building a café around coffee and community events.

Because the café sits in a long strip suite, it's split into three rooms, and each works differently:

1. The dining room has deep blue walls, gold décor, twinkling lights and thrifted wooden tables around the counter.
2. The forest room is past the counter. It has a painted night sky on the ceiling and lighting set at about three-quarters, and Peterson intends it as a quieter place to get work done.
3. The garden room opens onto a patio behind the building. Peterson says larger groups have ended up there on their own.

The signature HoneySpell latte is made with honey and cinnamon and comes hot or iced. Baked goods currently come from Hannah's Corner Bakery, Honey Salt Bakery and Made With Love Bakery, and Peterson plans to add bagels and bread later.

"We've had three gaming groups come and play. We had a knitting circle last night. We've had a book club come already."

Peterson told the Inlander that those groups formed "without me doing anything." Before opening, she told the Journal she was planning journaling hours, book swaps, craft gatherings, chess lessons, Dungeons & Dragons groups and "Wandering Vendor Wednesdays." We couldn't find a dated October schedule for any of these, so check @honeyspellcafe on Instagram before planning a night around one.

A Cottage Bakery That Ran Out of Room on Wall Street

Mother Bear's Bakery came to its new building in a different way. It started in 2020 as a pandemic cottage bakery, with Laura Logsdon baking at home for extra income and selling through porch drop-offs, deliveries, craft fairs and markets. It later opened a storefront at 1028 W. Rosewood, but the baking still happened in the home kitchen, and everything had to be driven over.

"It's such a relief," Logsdon told the Spokane Journal of Business about having the kitchen and the shop in one building. The new store at 5503 N. Wall St. had its grand opening September 1. At 1,600 square feet, it's more than double the size of the previous shop, and it's open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week.

Logsdon co-owns the bakery with her mother, Tammy Cloud, and the Journal reported that three generations of the family now bake there together. The full kitchen lets them keep the breads, cookies, fudge and cakes and add simple breakfast, lunch and dessert items, such as bagels and individually sliced cakes. If you used to get Mother Bear's dropped off at home, the Journal's September 10 report said deliveries are paused while the family settles into the new store and will come back later.

Grounded Gardens and HoneySpell took over buildings with a history. Mother Bear's brought its own: a customer base built at markets and on doorsteps over several years, now in one storefront with longer hours than many bakeries keep.

Garland Clayground, Still Under Construction

The fourth spot isn't open yet. Garland Clayground is a community pottery studio planned for 815 W. Garland Ave. On September 23, Inland Northwest Business Watch reported that the space was still under construction, with an opening hoped for "sometime this fall" and the date to be announced on the studio's social media.

The plan includes wheel-throwing and hand-building classes, memberships, workshops, date nights, one-time pottery sessions, and a small retail area for finished pieces and other handmade goods. Classes are already for sale on the studio's website, including children's hand-building, introductory wheel throwing and an intermediate class called "Beyond the Basics: Wheel Throwing." The studio's team page lists Katie Rose as lead instructor and owner.

Like HoneySpell, the studio is relying on social media to get word out. You'll probably see the opening date on its Instagram before you see a sign on Garland.

Fitting Them Into an Ordinary Week

All four are small, owner-run businesses, and the three that are open keep afternoon-and-evening hours rather than early-morning commuter hours. Here's how they compare:

A note on HoneySpell's hours: the Inlander's post-opening listing gives noon to 8 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. Before opening, the Journal reported later weekend hours, until 10 p.m. Friday through Sunday. If you're planning a weekend evening there, check Instagram first.

The most useful details for a first visit are the reminders of what used to be there. At 10115 N. Newport Highway, look for the brewery sign, which is still up for now. At 727 W. Francis, look for the white building that used to be Green Gables Photography. On Wall, look for the bigger storefront where the bakery that once made porch drop-offs now does all its baking under one roof.

If you've lived on the north side long enough to remember Green Gables or Hop Chaos, we'd like to hear what you think of these new places. Angela and Arianna have been in and around Spokane for a long time, and following which businesses move into which buildings is part of how we keep up with the neighborhoods we love. When you're ready to talk about your own place on the north side, A-Team Real Estate is glad to set up a time over coffee. Schedule a Free Consultation and we'll meet you at one of these spots.