Wilbur adds, “and then we just sort of said, ‘Screw it, just go with something!’ We had paralysis by analysis.” A tip from a bartender to keep the bottle simple and easy to grab helped the trio, and they’ve talked to people at all levels of the industry to help figure out how best to approach entering the fray of craft distilling. “Our philosophy was to start small,” Brenda Wilbur says, and the methodical approach has helped them navigate some frustrating aspects of starting a new booze business. How tough it is to get their vodka in front of bar and restaurant owners was surprising at first — “I really thought there would be more enthusiasm about a new local product,” Barrom says. “It’s very hard to compete.” — but the challenges led to some creative marketing ideas, like serving Savage Boar at the Cheney and Ritzville rodeos. The nonstop lessons extend to Alex Wilbur, who basically taught himself how to distill once the team decided to launch the business. “I was watching the progression of how beer hit the scene,” Alex Wilbur says. “It was here for 10 or 15 years, and then it just exploded. Now beer is like your neighborhood bakery or your neighborhood restaurant. People stop in to have a beer after work and they’re having local beer. And we’re watching hard liquor start to do the same thing.” He’s self-deprecating about his skills, but the results of only his second batch of vodka — currently in bottles around town and at the distillery — are tasty, particularly mixed with fruit juice. And the process is speeding up for him now that he has experience working with the Eastern Washington wheat used for his vodka. “Me and John’s first mash-in was incredibly fascinating,” Alex Wilbur says. “It actually took me like 12 hours to grind the first batch of wheat. It was exhausting and nightmarish.” “John was like, ‘I don’t think this is going to work,’” Brenda Wilbur adds with a laugh. “There’s got to be a way to streamline this!” Barrom recalls thinking. “At every step of the process there’s been like a ‘No way I’m doing that again,’” Alex Wilbur says. “So you find the better way. A lot of trial and error. If I had been smart, I would have spent more time and maybe $5,000 for a more formal [distilling] education. I would have been up and cooking faster. On the other side of that, what you learn the hard way you never forget, and the journey’s been amazing to get where it can go in the bottle.” The team already has plans afoot for increasing production in 2018 to make more vodka, as well as starting on gin production, adding some flavored vodka (jalapeno, anyone?) and increasing their public outreach with events, an online shop and a revamped tasting room. If that seems like a Alex Wilbur samples some aged vodka. lot to undertake for a young business, that’s another lesson they’re learning. As patient as one has to be to learn the craft and make a tasty beverage is as fast as things start moving once your product catches on. Barrom says that even though they’re just getting started, they’re already hearing from customers about what’s next. “Another example of how you get pulled in different directions,” Barrom says. “We have this base of people who like our vodka a lot, and of course they start going, ‘When are you going to have something else?’ Here’s Alex trying to make batch three, and people want other stuff!” n Savage Boar Spirits Craft Distillery • 11902 W. 21st Ave., Airway Heights • Facebook: Savage Boar Spirits Craft Disillery • 995-4937 for tours and tastings
FOOD | OPENING
Event Eats
Four new food counters offer restaurant-style fare.
STUART DANFORD PHOTO
The Spokane Arena unveils restaurant-style dining options in newly remodeled concessions area BY CHEY SCOTT
H
ot dogs, hamburgers and popcorn may be considered all-time classics when it comes to concessions fare, but hungry guests at the Spokane Arena now have plenty more to choose from. A remodeled and expanded concessions area called the Market, located on the northwest end of the arena concourse, debuted earlier this month with many new food options: gourmetstyle sausages, Asian cuisine, artisan-style pizza and grilled sandwiches. Each of the aforementioned cuisines are served on concise menus at one of four new food counters inside the Market, which the venue’s food service staff developed to be more comparable to casual restaurant dining than generic concessions fare. The Market also includes a 16-tap beer, cider and wine bar, although each of the four counters also feature four beer taps, along with soda and other non-alcoholic beverages. The four new stands were developed by locally based culinary staff of Centerplate, the national catering and food services company that services both the Arena and the Spokane Convention Center. At Griddled, Arena guests can choose from grilled sandwiches like the staff-favorite Cubano ($9.50), with pulled pork, ham, swiss cheese, honey dijon and dill pickles. There’s also the “fancy pants grilled cheese” ($8) with three types of cheese, and a dessert sandwich of maple cream cheese and candied bacon served between cinnamon swirl bread ($7). “Our main customer base is [Spokane] Chiefs fans, and they are here a few days a week, so it’s nice for them to get something different,” explains Centerplate sous chef Jessica Reuthinger. Meanwhile, the new artisan pizza stand Crust serves up hot, fresh slices ($6-$7.50) of four styles: cheese, pepperoni, veggie and Italian
sausage. Reuthinger’s favorite creation there is the oven-fired cinnamon roll, served in pizza-like slices. Craft Burger and Sausage serves three different burgers, as well as a spicy andouille sausage and bratwurst ($6/dogs; $9-$10/burgers). Rounding out the list is Noodled, which serves three different wok-fried noodle wraps — banh mi, lo mein and phad thai — that can also be ordered as rice bowls ($9/each). Each of the four stands offer at least one vegetarian option, and a dessert. “We’re trying to stay up with the times, and offer something new,” says Centerplate executive chef Harold Froewiss. “Some of those [previous] stands were original when they built the Arena, it was time to move forward.” Work to modernize the Spokane Arena’s food offerings began earlier this year, and also included a street taco stand that opened several months ago; it’s located on the southwest concourse. Previously existing food and beverage areas that remain include the Red Tail lounge, Dry Fly Distilling’s bar and restaurant, the No-Li Taproom, Jameson Pub and a few other smaller popcorn and sweets stands. The Arena’s culinary team designed all four menus to be flexible, so that new items and specials can be introduced to keep dining options fresh and interesting to venue patrons. They also focused on making prices competitive with other dining options in the vicinity, and the Spokane market overall. Another goal of the concession expansion is make ordering food and drinks a faster experience for customers. “It would be nice to have [the Arena] be a destination to eat and also see the event — to come and look forward to getting dinner at the Arena,” Reuthinger says. n cheys@inlander.com
DECEMBER 28, 2017 INLANDER 33