Do you ever look at a furnished space and think, "This would be perfect if I added a plant or two!"?
With more than a few houseplants — about 75 of them, actually — Kadra Evans created the bar of her dreams.
The local entrepreneur, chef and plant enthusiast is now co-owner of Garden Party, a new, botanical-themed cocktail bar at 107 S. Madison St. in downtown Spokane. The venue is named after a classic gin cocktail, a fitting choice as the bar doubles as a plant shop.
In large part thanks to its aesthetically pleasing Instagram feed, Evans says people are trekking to Garden Party from around the region and even across the state, often dressed up in tea-party attire, ready to indulge in pretty cocktails while nestled in a lush oasis.
Garden Party began as an idea between Evans and her best friend and co-owner, Kelly Kramer, who also owns a local houseplant accessory business called Wood & Soil. Kramer originally envisioned a coffee shop with plants, but when Two Winey Bitches, a former wine tasting room, closed due to the pandemic, Evans knew she wanted to move in.
As a houseplant collector, Evans needed more space outside her home for her quickly multiplying indoor garden. That's when she came up with the idea of a bar filled with them, paired with herbal cocktails.
"This gave me a chance to sit here and enjoy the stuff I already loved, but with a cocktail," Evans says.
Kramer's Wood & Soil built about 40 pieces of art to showcase around the bar, such as wooden plant stands and hangers. Meanwhile, Two Winey Bitches' owner, Margaret Anne Walser, came on board as co-owner at her tasting room's successor. Walser's wine is still offered in one of Garden Party's current signature drinks, the Winey Bitch Spritz ($10), a blend of iced wine with muddled raspberry and an aftertaste of mint. Walser's Willow Wind Organic Farms, which grows fruit for the wine, is also working with Evans to provide fruit and herbs for the bar's cocktails.
Herbs and other ingredients used for Garden Party's drink menu are grown in the space. Since the bar has only been opened since early June, these plants are still small, but Evans has high hopes.
"Eventually, we'll just be able to walk out and pull things off the wall and put it in a cocktail,"she says.
Garden Party offers a variety of alcoholic beverages including champagne and wine cocktails, spirits-based cocktails and even mocktails. A bite-sized food menu completes the Garden Party experience.
Stop by with friends and catch up at a woodsy table surrounded by lush greenery. Start with one of Garden Party's bestsellers, the Elder Honey Kiss ($11), consisting of iced champagne with elderflower and a soft honey throat coat, topped with edible flowers. Then snack on the Flowering Butter Candle ($8), with toasted bread from the nearby Twenty-Seventh Heaven Bakery and house-made compound butter served over a small candle stove. Finish with Rue & Berry ($14), berry gin with amaro, a hint of lime, and pineapple with coconut cream, served with a sugar-coated rim.
Many customers come to Garden Party for the drinks, but stay for the houseplants.
Along with hosting bachelorette, birthday and other themed parties, Evans hopes to start hosting plant classes in the fall. She envisions these classes letting customers try signature cocktails and snacks while learning how to build a terrarium or doing other plant-related activities. She also hopes to host weekly plant swaps.
Locals may recognize Evans' name, as she also owns Little Noodle and Itty Bitty Buddha Bar in the Garland District. From getting her start by working in the kitchens of restaurants around the area, to launching her own businesses and competing on a recent episode of Food Network's competitive series Supermarket Stakeout, Evans continues to establish herself as a creative force in the region's hospitality scene. Garden Party is yet another example of how she's putting down roots. ♦
Garden Party • 107 S. Madison St. • Open Wed-Sat 11 am- 11 pm, Sun 11 am-8 pm • instagram.com/gardenpartyspokane
