Part of a downtown Spokane building that once housed elegant home furnishings soon will become a destination for lovers of fine steaks.


Former Ridpath Hotel General Manager Bill Alles is planning an upscale steakhouse, to be called Churchills, that will be located in part of the old Joel Inc. home-furnishings store space, at 165 S. Post.


Alles says a company he formed, called Sprague Avenue Partners LLC, has agreed to buy 6,000 square feet of floor space in the old Joel structure, including half of the first floor and part of the basement.


As currently planned, the first-floor space would house an 80-seat dining area and kitchen, and the basement would house a 70-seat bar.


About 50 people will work there.


I feel there is an opportunity to develop a fine dining restaurant centered around fine steaks, says Alles, who left the Ridpath last summer after working as its general manager for seven years. This is a market where it would work.


The purchase of the future restaurant space is scheduled to be completed in April, and renovation work will start soon thereafter, Alles says. He hopes to open the restaurant in August.


The total cost of the restaurant-space purchase and the remodeling work is expected to be between $1.6 million and $2 million, he says.


As envisioned, Churchills will be a formal restaurant that serves U.S. Department of Agriculture-certified prime beef dishes, featuring beef from Midwestern cattle, Alles says. The average meal price will be in the upper $30 range, and cuts of meat will be slightly larger than typicalporterhouse steak will start at 28 ounces, and T-bone steaks will start at 24 ounces.


The basement bar will be a raw bar that will serve fresh oysters, steamed clams, and other seafood items, such as stone crab claws, when theyre in season.


Architect Don Neraas and designer John Rovtar, both of Spokane, currently are working on the design for Churchills. Garco Construction Inc., of Spokane, will be the general contractor on the project.


The building for many years housed the Joel Inc. home-furnishings store, which closed last summer. Earlier this year, a group of investors bought the bulk of the building and said it plans to renovate the structure into condo units.


Alles has worked in the hospitality industry for more than 30 years. Prior to joining the Ridpath, he worked in Philadelphia for DoubleTree Hotels and managed properties in New York City.


The restaurants name is inspired by Winston Churchill, the late British prime minister and World War II leader whom Alles says he looks up to.


I love some of his quotes, he says. I love that hes a guy who enjoyed good food, ample drink, and a good cigar.