"I like to fail very slowly," admits chef-owner Tony Brown, who's been teasing the third relocation of his restaurant, Ruins, for months on social media.
Now settled in at the western edge of Kendall Yards, at 411 N. Nettleton St., Ruins reopened on April 15 and takes over the space formerly occupied by Park Lodge (which for a short time became BRGR House). For those paying attention to Brown's cryptic Instagram updates, the move may have come as no surprise.
Ruins first opened in 2014 on North Monroe Street in the building now home to Chowderhead before moving downtown in 2021 to the Bickett Building at 225 W. Riverside Ave. and replacing a fine dining concept Brown briefly called Eyvind.
"We opened Hunt and Eyvind like two months before COVID, so [they] kind of shut down pretty quick, and then I had to kind of rebrand and just turn it into Ruins," Brown says.
For five years, Ruins operated out of the downtown space above Hunt, which served a rustic food-inspired menu in the basement. But when Brown's lease was up and he found out the Kendall Yards location was still available, he jumped at the opportunity, opting to move Ruins and close Hunt.
"I opened the downtown one because everyone owns a downtown restaurant," Brown says. "But then downtown fizzled a little bit."
He's quick to clarify, however, that the decision to move wasn't due to the visible homeless population in downtown Spokane.
"[Downtown] should have more of a draw, and I don't think it's based on the quality of restaurants or I don't think it has anything to do with being a dangerous place to go," he says. "I just feel like there's less events downtown, there's less things going on downtown to entice people to come downtown."
Much like its history of changing locations, Ruins is known for its constantly changing menu. While longtime fans can still expect menu switchups, Brown plans to slow the pace, updating it every three months rather than weekly or daily.
"I'm getting old, like, I've grown up I guess?" Brown says. "I don't have the energy anymore to change it as much as I did, but I get bored really fast."
Besides these changing whims, Brown is also inspired by local ingredients and makes sure there's a dish for everyone.
"I was just writing the last menu, and I would say 75% of it is naturally gluten-free," he says. "I was vegetarian for a decade so I definitely keep that in mind."
The lunch lineup nods to Brown's first restaurant, Stella's, which focused on sandwiches.
"I think the perfect food is a sandwich. You can put anything in between bread and make it taste good," he says.
Ruins' opening lunch menu keeps things tight with sandwiches like egg salad ($16), tuna melt ($17), Cubano ($17) and meatloaf ($18). Brown says it will increase over time to include more items like pasta.
Vegetarian versions of his sandwiches substitute meat with tofu, like the barbecue ($14) and banh mi ($16). The meat version of his long-popular banh mi — a favorite since the original Stella's days — is packed with braised, shredded pork, radish, cucumber, carrot and jalapeño on a flaky French roll.
Though Brown loves a good sandwich, dinner is his favorite meal due to its versatility.
"There's some things that stay on the menu that people love, but it's typically my own little playground," he says.
Fans will find returning hits like the dirty fries ($15), featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, served with lemon aioli, salsa verde and pork shoulder. Gnocchi, another Ruins staple, hasn't made its way onto the opening menu but can be expected in the future.
Small plates include shredded brussels sprouts ($11), arancini ($14), and Asian-inspired dishes like okonomiyaki ($16). Entrées range from ribeye ($36) with mashed potatoes, roasted shallot, oyster mayo and salsa verde to an Idaho rainbow trout ($28) with brussels sprouts, black Fuji apple, crispy bacon and a butter sauce.
Since Ruins' first iteration opened, it's also been known for its craft cocktails. At the new location, however, Brown is steering toward simplicity for the drink menu.
"I think we're gonna actually go a little bit away from craft only because I think it'll be busy enough to be like 'turn and burn.' We want to do quick cocktails," he says.
Brown relies on his intuition when cooking rather than recipes, admitting that he often drives his staff a little crazy with his improvisational style.
"My whole philosophy is that pretty much everyone that I hire has had a cooking background or has worked in restaurants forever. I'll give them a guideline, and my whole thing is like, 'Make it taste good,'" Brown says.
The same unpredictability that characterizes Brown's style is what keeps patrons coming back.
"Trust your chef. I'm not going to make anything bad," Brown says.
Ruins' new spot is right across the street from Kendall Yards' Olmsted Brothers Green and overlooks the Centennial Trail and Spokane River.
"I'm just excited for the neighborhood. I'm excited for just the constant traffic," Brown says.
For diners who remember Park Lodge, which shuttered a little over a year ago, much of the interior remains the same, save for a bold new coat of teal paint on the north wall.
"When I first took over the space, my daughter, who is 21, came to visit [during] Christmas break, and the first thing that she said was, 'It looks like a bank.' Because it was very, very beige, so we made it more colorful," Brown says.
A huge, striking Amazonian face mask hangs on the wall and greets customers as they walk in.
"That's not going anywhere. It weighs a lot," Brown says.
Natural wood accents run throughout, found in exposed wooden beams, logs stacked artfully into a wall niche near the entrance, and in the seating and tables.
Besides coming to Brown fully furnished, the space's kitchen was decked with top-of-the-line appliances. Park Lodge's chef-owner Philip Stanton outfitted a large applewood-burning hearth oven, visible to patrons, with an adjustable metal grate.
Another major upgrade for Ruins is the riverside patio, which seats 50 people. The patio alone is more than double his old location's total capacity.
"This is the first restaurant in 13 years where I walked in and I was like, 'Oh, this is like put together. I don't have to do anything,'" Brown says.
Ruins • 411 N. Nettleton St. • Open Sun 9 am-8 pm; Mon-Thu 11:30 am-10 pm; Fri 11:30 am-midnight; Sat 9 am-midnight • Instagram: @_ruins • 509-474-1262
