New café to open in Spokane Valley
Beans & Berries will specialize in grab-and-go salads and fresh-pressed juices at the end of June and will also offer coffee, smoothies, pastries, paninis, and breakfast burritos
SPOKANE VALLEY
A new café called Beans & Berries is set to open soon in Spokane Valley, specializing in grab-and-go salads and fresh-pressed juices. The café will open at the end of June at 1421 N. Mullan Road and will also offer coffee, smoothies, pastries, paninis, and breakfast burritos. Owner Roger Villareal states, “We’re aiming for a healthy vibe with our proteins and smoothies.” Employee Grace Rodriguez adds, “There’s a strong emphasis on freshness and health.” Villareal is leasing nearly 1,700 square feet of café space in a small retail strip located just a couple of blocks south of the Interstate 90-Argonne Road interchange. He has previous experience as the co-owner of Monterey Café at 9 N. Washington in downtown and Barks and Beans, a dog grooming and coffee shop that was formerly located at 1314 S. Grand on Spokane’s South Hill. Additionally, he was the former owner of T’s Lounge, a bar situated at 703 N. Monroe on the outskirts of downtown. Currently, the team consists of Villareal and two employees.Villareal brainstormed the menu with his two current employees, Rodriguez and Jenni Rader-Bakos, who both have extensive hospitality experience, he says.
Rader-Bakos says the menu includes multiple vegan options.
“We’ll do juices and salads, and add rock cacao bites, similar to brownie bites,” says Rader-Bakos. “We take fine dates, peanut butter or almond butter, raw cacao, and cashews. We blend it all together, chill it, and roll them in sesame seeds. And we’ll have raw carrot cake bites.”
Juices will include a variety of different colors, adds Rader-Bakos.
“We’ll have watermelon juice, a red juice, a green juice, some blue spirulina, and apple,” she says.
Villareal plans on adding additional salad options, including quinoa, in the future.
“We’re going to have real fresh-pressed juices on hand, grab-and-go,” Villareal says. “We’re trying to go with a healthy kick to it. We’re going to offer six or seven salads … and four or five paninis.”
Beans & Berries will source its coffee from Spokane-based Jacob’s Java, which operates Gemelli Coffee Roasting, at 2502 E. Sprague.
There’s a possibility Beans & Berries will add alcohol in the future.
Villareal started working on the $50,000 remodel in April. The majority of the investment went to restaurant equipment in the space, which was formerly occupied by The Spot Tattoo parlor, he says. Since there’s no traditional hood system in the building, menu items will consist mostly of salads and sandwiches, which are prepared with ventless cooking equipment.
The improvements include a large mural by local artist Hailey Clawson and a new kitchen prep area.
The café will seat up to 50 occupants and include two separate areas, including one with couches and chairs. A separate room will seat eight and can be reserved for meetings, says Villareal. “Anyone can use it, But if you want it, we can reserve for no cost.”
Construction is nearly complete, with only counters and refrigeration installation remaining.
After selling T’s Lounge in April 2024, Villareal initially planned on opening a drive-thru coffee shop with healthy food-to-go options. He purchased a small coffee stand in Spirit Lake and moved it to Spokane.
“Our original concept was a drive-thru with grab-and-go salads and fresh pressed juices,” Villareal says.
His plans changed when his real estate agent, Kimberly Millet, of Bornhoft Commercial, found the current location.
The café will be open between 7 a.m. an 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., initially.
