DIGITAL EDITION

Spring 2021

It was very exciting when it was announced that Spokane and Eastern Washington would be allowed to move to Phase 2 of the state’s recovery plan. After reopening in the fall, the second shutdown, which coincided with national spikes in the number of coronavirus cases, was a pall on the whole holiday season. Yes, there were dinners in igloos, brunches by patio heaters, and 2-person happy hours made possible by the large garage doors at all of our favorite local breweries, but the lack of true indoor dining still left most restaurants working with a skeleton crew of kitchen and front-of-house staff.

The arrival of Phase 2 put a smile on my masked-face because I was so happy to know that these hubs of community and camaraderie would start buzzing again. For some places around town, we played the will-they or won’t-they game for whenever the time came to reopening but remaining cautiously optimistic. So when the date arrived, I asked Ricky Webster pack up some goodies from Rind and Wheat, and I dropped them off at a few restaurants for their employees to enjoy and celebrate finally knowing they will and they have! I didn’t stay to eat. I left that for other diners who had clearly been waiting for that moment as well: those excited to see which familiar faces would return, their smiles evident while still hidden behind masks, watching plates emanate from a kitchen having to course out dinner and not just stuffing to-go containers as fast as possible, and to enjoy the prospect of saving room for dessert or ordering a second cocktail and not having to make those high-stakes caloric decisions in advance over the phone.

So yes, this is a column that celebrates being open and a semblance of normalcy, but it’s also a plea: as we return to our favorite local establishments, please consider those who are serving us. Visit Big Table’s website and learn about what they do locally and maybe print off some of their envelopes to start giving out Unexpected 20’s around town. As much as this time represents a return to the way things were before the pandemic, we also have the opportunity to look at the systems that don’t work perfectly and industry shortcomings to improve going forward.

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