The Current
NOVEMBER 2013 • 25
BUSINESS
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CURRENT PHOTOS BY VALERIE PUTNAM
Carlos Fuentes stands outside Choo Choo Pizza at 11027 E. Sprague Ave. Along with his family, Fuentes worked six months to remodel former dental offices that had been housed inside the restored train.
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At right: Carlos and Alex Fuentes, ages 17 and 12, stand in the engine cab of Choo Choo Pizza. The Fuentes family opened the restaurant in mid-September.
Family steams into Valley pizza business By Valerie Putnam
CURRENT CONTRIBUTOR
A newly opened Spokane Valley pizza restaurant is hoping to be on track with customers’ palettes with its unique location: a bright orange restored three-car train. Choo Choo Pizza opened in mid-September on East Sprague Avenue between University and Bowdish roads. "We thought it would be a fun place for kids," Carlos Fuentes said about opening Choo Choo Pizza in the restored train. The restaurant is a family venture; originally from Toluca, Mexico, owners Carlos and Amelia Fuentes, along with their two sons, Carlos and Alex, run the business. The entire train sits on 180 feet of railroad track, running north to south on the property. Customers can dine in the engine originally built for the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1951 or in a renovated 1914 Pullman sleeping car named “Blystheswood.” The engine features seating, a kids’ play area with toys and a big screen monitor
IF YOU GO ... Choo Choo Pizza, 11027 E. Sprague Avenue, is open Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. The pizzas are made to order for either dine in or takeout. To order, call 868-5067. hooked up to an Xbox 360. Children are encouraged to explore the cab, sit in the engineer's seat and blow the train's horn. The Pullman serves as another dining car and is decorated with railroad plaques. Choo Choo's kitchen is in the former Burlington Northern 11389, a 30-foot-long, metal caboose. The restaurant offers lunch and dinner and serves seven different pizzas on handmade crusts. Using fresh ingredients, the selections include cheese, garlic chicken, barbecue chicken and vegetarian. Cheesy bread, hot wings, calzones and garden salads also are served. Choo Choo offers dine in and takeout; the Fuentes family plans to provide deliv-
ery service in the Valley in the near future. They also plan to expand their menu with items such as hot dogs, pulled-pork sandwiches and potato patties. Eventually they will serve breakfast all day. Friday through Sunday, kids up to age 10 are served a free pizza with purchase. Other specials include a large pepperoni pizza for $6 until 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Choo Choo is the second restaurant for the Fuentes family; four years ago, they owned and operated La Cabana, a restaurant in Mexico. "We were looking for a nice place to live," Carlos said about the reason they moved to the area. "Spokane is a quiet place, nice people here." Before becoming a restaurant, the railroad cars had been the pediatric dental office of John Ryan, who renovated the cars from 1979 to 1985 and then operated his practice there until 2009. "It was a labor of love," Tom Ryan, John Ryan's brother, said about the restoration project. "He spent every free moment renovating it."
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The Fuentes worked about six months to update the space for a restaurant. “It has been a big challenge,” Carlos Fuentes said.