Iconic Eateries: ‘The people and the soul’ have kept customers coming back to Spokane’s Park Inn since 1932

A beige, unassuming building sits across from the massive structures of Sacred Heart’s medical campus. For many longtime residents of Spokane, however, the Park Inn is an iconic business bound to the fabric of the South Hill.

The Park Inn has remained an enduring feature of Spokane’s community, entertaining guests since it first opened in 1932. The eatery and tavern claims to be the oldest restaurant in Spokane.

Marcus Schmick, the owner of the Park Inn, said it’s the people and connections made that the long-time customers remember.

“They don’t talk about the building as much as the people and the soul,” Schmick said. “Didn’t matter who are you, where you are in society, they embraced everybody.”

Though many fixtures of the restaurant remain the same, the current management is sure to keep things updated.

“Remodel and remodel and remodel. Constantly updating, constantly adapting,” Schmick said. “The only consistent we have is change.”

The constant evolution of the restaurant is essential to its history and place in Spokane.

Upon opening during the Great Depression, the inn only occupied half of its current footprint.

It had a simple menu of standard diner fare, sometimes served through what is among the first drive-thru windows in the country. The other half operated separately for many decades, becoming the Pizza Plaza in 1953.

Eventually, under the ownership of Gordy Olsen, the two businesses merged to become the restaurant and bar known today.

As was Olsen and each subsequent owner, Schmick is an active participant in the operation of the restaurant.

“You go back to Gordy back in the ’60s, then Mary Lou took over and they were front and center,” Schmick said, mentioning Gordy Olson’s wife, Mary Lou Olsen. “There’s never been an owner here who’s an absentee owner.”

Whether it be dishwashing or bussing, Schmick’s experience in bartending goes back to the moment he turned 21. His relationship with Park Inn goes back even further.

While Schmick did not grow up in Spokane, he spent summers at his grandfather’s home on the South Hill. Driving into downtown, the Park Inn was a frequent, memorable sight during his visits.

“All I remember through my youth until I was probably 15, 16 years old coming over here for summers, was driving by the Park Inn on the way downtown,” he said.

Schmick’s wife, a Spokane native, would reintroduce him to the Park Inn years later. Through her brother, the business fell into his hands.

Eight years later, he still remembers his first day as owner.

“Since Sept. 28, 2015,” he said.

Schmick would preside over the restaurant amidst an extensive renovation, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The community is everything here,” Schmick said. “You look at COVID … we had one South Hill member buy $3,000 worth of gift cards and gave the staff a couple hundred dollars each just walking around.

“The South Hill community has really taken care of us.”

The Park Inn’s location near Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center draws many medical workers and some patients. Many customers have been regulars of the restaurant for decades.

“It’s the historical factor that makes it a draw for the community,” Schmick said. “You talk to most people, well, my parents met here, my grandparents met here, or when I was in nursing school, or back in the ’60s, that’s a big thing, or when Gordy owned it … people love to tell the stories about coming here.”

While the restaurant’s customers remain loyal, their schedules have grown unpredictable following the pandemic.

“We could predict we’re going to be busy on this day, we will be busy on this day, and now it’s Tuesday packed house, Wednesday – dead,” Schmick said. “I want them here every day and every time, so I’m in no way saying I don’t want them here, it’s just one of those things.”

Though habits around eating out have been impacted by the pandemic, the quality and consistency of the food has not.

This value is evident in the Park Inn’s pizza, a staple item of the restaurant since the original Pizza Plaza opened in 1953. The distinctive square crust and toppings below the cheese remain as they did decades ago. The original pizza oven has stayed, too.

For kitchen manager Martin Palacios, stability is the focus as the restaurant approaches its 100th anniversary.

“The biggest goal is to keep it what it is and where we are, and keep people coming in and being happy with the results they get and the quality of food,” he said.