click to enlarge Meghan Kirk photo Steady Flow owners Cassie and Ashton Preston have opened a second location downtown.

Ladder Coffee & Toast moving to downtown Spokane

The North Spokane drive-through/walk-up coffee stand plans to make its move to new downtown digs later this year, with a projected opening in mid-October. Ladder Coffee & Toast, owned by Spokane couple Katie and Aaron Rivkin, opened last fall in the Mead area at 603 W. Hastings Rd., where it serves locally roasted coffee and toast using Central Food's loaves. It'll remain open there until everything's ready at the new and expanded downtown spot, inside a brick building at 1516 W. Riverside, bordering the edge of downtown Spokane's west end and Browne's Addition. The larger spot will allow Ladder to roast its own coffee and expand its toast and food offerings. (CHEY SCOTT)

Spokane Valley Poke Express now open

Poké, Hawaiian-style raw fish salads (essentially sushi in a bowl), has come to Spokane Valley with the region's second location of Poke Express, which celebrated its soft opening in late August. The new location is the third restaurant from a local group that also owns Yummy Ice Cream Rolls in central Spokane, as well the first Poke Express spot on the lower South Hill, at 905 S. Grand Blvd. The Spokane Valley spot is at 1509 N. Pines Rd. (CS)

Pearl Jam at PJ's Pub

Recently the Seattle rock heroes played a couple of "home shows" in Seattle to help raise money to fight homelessness in the Emerald City. In support of the cause, Georgetown Brewing created Home Shows Seattle Pale Ale, which you can buy in six-packs and on tap for a limited time, with a portion of sales going to help out the cause. I ran across it recently at PJ's Pub on North Monroe, which just completed some refurbishing, including work on the floors, bar top and restrooms. Consider a pint of the PJ's pale a great reason to visit the "new" PJ's Pub, and support a good cause, too. (DAN NAILEN)

Get your growlers to-go downtown

A second location of the locally owned Steady Flow Growler House is now open in downtown Spokane's west end, at 111 S. Cedar St. The new taproom and growler filling station — featuring 34 taps of local and regional beer, cider, wine and kombucha — is located in the former River City Brewing Co. taproom, which closed at the end of 2017 to allow the brewery to focus on production. Steady Flow is owned by Ashton and Cassie Preston, who also operate a location in Spokane Valley at 328 N. Sullivan Rd. The taproom offers in-house pints as well as crowler and growler fills to-go. While the new downtown spot is currently in a soft-opening phase, a grand opening party is set for Saturday, Sept. 8, from 4-8 pm. (CS)

Indaba opens sixth downtown location on Riverside

Local coffee purveyor Indaba Coffee Roasters' newest Spokane location is having its soft opening this week, operating Monday through Friday from 7 am to 6 pm at 518 W. Riverside. The new spot, next door to Dodson's Jewelers, brings Indaba's coffee counter count up to six, including the Howard Street store just blocks away, a small kiosk in the skywalk, two locations in Kendall Yards and its flagship Broadway Avenue store. Owner Bobby Enslow says the newest spot has been a work in progress for several years and will allow for an expanded menu of artisan toasts served with housemade spreads and toppings, as well as beer and wine once a liquor license is approved. "I'm excited to expand the menu into more of a well-rounded cafe-like setting," Enslow says. (CS) ♦

food@inlander.com