click to enlarge Erick Doxey photo Games and grub go hand in hand at downtown Spokane's new Flatstick Pub.

"There are only two rules at Flatstick Pub," the Seattle-based casual eatery states on its website: "Drink local and have fun."

That fun recently arrived to downtown Spokane with the regional chain's new location on Main Avenue on the ground floor of the M Building and near Riverfront Park. Flatstick offers drinks, food, a challenging nine-hole miniature golf course and a variety of games for people of all ages. Murals by Seattle artist Ryan Henry Ward and other artists cover the walls of the expansive space, along with massive windows and a high, vaulted ceiling.

It looks like they're going to need every inch of that space, too. The new location proved popular almost immediately after its debut, with more than 400 memberships sold during Flatstick's Dec. 7 grand opening. Those lifetime memberships go for $99 a pop and include a T-shirt, pint glass and bottle opener, in addition to free access to Flatstick's many pub games and member-only events and benefits.

Owners Andy and Sam Largent, brothers and Spokane natives, had long been waiting to expand to the eastern part of the state since opening the original Flatstick location in Kirkland in 2014. Since then, they've added locations in Seattle's South Lake Union and Pioneer Square, along with Spokane, and plan to add two more restaurants on the west side.

"It's kind of like their coming-home tour," says Rob Forbes, Flatstick's brand manager.

A wide variety of locally crafted beverages is Flatstick's calling card. The Spokane location currently touts 34 choices, including 24 beers specifically from Washington breweries, alongside hard seltzers, ciders, draft cocktails and wine. Drinks are $1.50 cheaper during happy hour, Monday through Friday from 3-6 pm, and tap choices are always rotating, meaning guests are likely to see new options during each visit. The full tap list is continually updated on Flatstick's website.

"It's a great community that we're bringing to Spokane," Forbes says of incorporating local breweries from both sides of the state.

"Spokane needs something like that. It's about working with the breweries, making fun events and bringing people together."

A Flatstick Pub app serves as a digital beer punch card with 16 levels of rewards and allows users to keep score while playing in-house games. As with the other locations, the pub is completely cashless, primarily to make transactions easier and faster.

"It's very efficient," Forbes says. "We get through lines faster and it makes it easy on our staff... It's just swipe and go. You can open your tab and we don't need to hold on to your card."

The food menu, created in collaboration with Seattle chef Ethan Stowell, includes a variety of brick-oven pizzas ranging from classics to more original creations ($14-$17). The pizzas, which feed roughly two, are only $10 during the pub's regular happy hour, and during a daily late-night pizza happy hour from 10 pm to close.

A mix of salads ($11-$13) and other snacks are also available. Classic bar food like french fries ($7) and spicy chicken wings ($12) are present and accounted for, along with specialty items like multi-flavored monkey bread ($6) and charcuterie ($16), a good option for groups.

Beyond the beer and food, it's the games that keep people coming, and there's plenty to choose from. Miniature golf is a Flatstick Pub mainstay, but a game the Largent brothers invented — "Duffleboard," a tabletop mix of golf and pool — is less of a time commitment and offers more fast-paced fun. Golf is $7 per round and Duffelboard is $4, while buying a pass to play games of each is $10. A variety of smaller games are located around the pub floor, waiting to be explored.

Forbes says Flatstick plans to host a variety of community events, including golf tournaments and socials for its members.

Customers under age 21 are welcome before 7 pm and a visit can be great for a family mini-golf outing or daytime meal. But young ones are certainly not the only patrons encouraged to have a good time.

"Everyone lets loose and has a good time," Forbes says. "The adults are often having more fun than the kids." ♦

food@inlander.com

Flatstick Pub • 618 W. Main Ave. • Open Sun-Thu 11 am-midnight, Fri-Sat 11 am-2 am; 21+ only after 7 pm • flatstickpub.com • 368-9477