To live up to the name Radio Bar, owners Jessica Hubacher and Jimmy Doran knew they needed not only a creative beverage menu, but a good sound system.
So when the couple remodeled the bar's cozy space in northwest Spokane's Audubon-Downriver neighborhood, they installed high-quality speakers both to play their favorite music and air sports events. On a recent Saturday afternoon, for example, guests could hear an NCAA tournament basketball game airing in rich, clear surround sound, no matter their seat.
For Radio Bar's other focus — craft cocktails — Hubacher contrived a balanced menu of classics and personal creations, calling upon prior experience at upscale bars in places like New York City and Seattle. She and Doran relocated to Spokane two summers ago and helped friends open Wooden City restaurant downtown, where both continued working until they were ready to branch out with their own space.
"We lived in the Garland neighborhood and fell in love with the area," Doran says. "We'd been looking for a space to open, and one thing led to another."
Although their initial offer on the spot (which last briefly housed Brandywine Bar & Bottle Shop) fell through, a second chance arose. Last summer, the couple secured a lease on the 1951-built building — originally a photography studio with an attached living unit — set back from the corner of Northwest Boulevard and Cochran Street. Radio Bar opened the first week of January, and quickly became a go-to for nearby residents.
"We were optimistic that the neighborhood would be welcoming, but we've been blown away," Doran says. "We've been seeing the same faces, and people have been so fantastic. A regular gave us a cool vintage radio to display on our back bar. It's exceeded expectations."
Though Radio Bar is small, the couple made the most of it with a mix of small two-person tables and a few larger, bar-height tables, plus bench seating along the walls and a bar facing its front window. There's also a sizable deck and garden-like patio in the back that they've already opened on sunny days.
Radio Bar's retro-inspired logo is painted on the building's side, and a faux radio tower topped by a red beacon perches on the roof. Its moniker is an homage to a place in New York the couple frequented that was nicknamed "the radio bar" by locals.
Both have worked in the industry since they were teens. Before moving to Spokane, they owned and operated Belltown Pizza in Seattle for a decade and a half.
"We're both lifers," Doran says, laughing.
While the building's tiny kitchen isn't conducive to a large food menu, Radio Bar offers shareable snacks like charcuterie ($18) and hummus ($12) plates, plus a couple of salads and a few warm, full-size entrees; currently a chicken pot pie ($12) and meatballs ($12) with sauce and garlic bread. Weekly specials rotate seasonally.
As much is made in house as possible, like the meatball sauce, Doran says, but a kitchen "the size of a telephone booth" limits their ability to make everything themselves.
On the bar side, Hubacher's cocktail prowess is showcased under the "house hits" section of the menu with special creations like the "Lost & Found" ($12) with chamomile-infused vodka, gin and Lillet Blanc. Under the "classic hits" section, standards include a rebrand for a classic via the "Kyiv" mule ($10) of vodka, lime and ginger beer, plus the Painkiller, Aviation and Boulevardier ($12 each).
An imported wine list and beer, cider and seltzer in bottles and cans, plus a handful of nonalcoholic cocktails, round out Radio Bar's beverage menu. ♦
Radio Bar • 2408 W. Northwest Blvd. • Open Tue-Thu 4-11 pm, Fri-Sat 4 pm-midnight • radiobarspokane.com • 509-327-0418
