Ethan Stowell Restaurants' counter spot Bosco opens in Wonder Building

Ethan Stowell Restaurants' counter spot Bosco opens in Wonder Building
Young Kwak photo
Restaurateur Ethan Stowell.

Last week we covered the opening of Tavolàta downtown — Seattle-based Ethan Stowell Restaurants' first Spokane eatery. Now, the company's second restaurant in the Lilac City is open, a small counter-service spot inside the Wonder Building called Bosco.

The casual pasta-centric venture joins existing Wonder Building food and drink purveyors High Tide Lobster Bar and Evans Brothers Coffee, which together create an urban food hall vibe inside the renovated historic space. More food tenants are also expected to move in soon.

Owner Ethan Stowell describes Bosco as more of a fast-casual version of Tavolàta.

"You can get a bowl of pasta, a panini, salad, and we added a bunch of outdoor seating and more tables, and we can also serve alcohol there," he says.

Bosco is located in the northwest corner of the Wonder's main floor, next to High Tide Lobster Bar.

More recent and forthcoming openings

As we crawl our way out of the coronavirus pandemic, the rate of new restaurant openings in the area isn't showing major signs of being slowed down (except for the fact that hiring has become an unprecedented challenge — more on that in Food next week).

Evidence of this regional trend is a slate of recent openings, with several more on the horizon, and which we'll be covering in the coming weeks.

Last week saw the debut of The Tea, a boba tea bar in the front corner of the Inlander's building in Kendall Yards, 1227 W. Summit Parkway. The Tea serves up refreshing milk tea drinks with plenty of flavor options, along with the traditional boba: tapioca pearl or fruity popping boba balls to slurp through a super-sized drink straw. The Tea is co-owned and operated by staff at Umi Kitchen & Sushi Bar next door.

Nearby and set to open the first week of June is the hotly anticipated Vieux Carre NOLA Kitchen, specializing in New Orleans- and Cajun-style cuisine. Located in a Victorian-style brick building with a Nola vibe at 1403 W. Broadway, the restaurant's neighbors in the space are the Gamer's Haven game shop and barbershop Maverick's Men's Hair.

Yet another new arrival to the Kendall Yards area is Crepe Cafe Sisters over on the neighborhood's western edge at 441 N. Nettleton, across a parking lot from Park Lodge, Hello Sugar and Indaba Coffee. The venture offering fresh-made sweet and savory crepes (including gluten-free options) began as a food truck; its owners had sought a permanent storefront for several years.

Another locally owned restaurant has returned in new form after being closed since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020. North Hill on Garland (706 W. Garland) reopened last month under the new ownership of recently returned Spokane native David Hayes, who last operated a restaurant on the Oregon Coast. So far Hayes has expanded North Hill's two-level patio, and introduced a revamped pub food menu with flatbreads, salads, shareable appetizers and an extensive wine list. ♦

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Chey Scott

Chey Scott is the Inlander's Editor, and has been on staff since 2012. Her past roles at the paper include arts and culture editor, food editor and listings editor. She also currently serves as editor of the Inlander's yearly, glossy magazine, the Annual Manual. Chey (pronounced “Shay”) is a lifelong resident...