A new café featuring grab-and-go salads and fresh-pressed juices is opening soon in Spokane Valley.

Beans & Berries is slated to open at the end of June at 1421 N. Mullan Road. The eatery will also feature coffee, smoothies, pastries, paninis, and breakfast burritos. 

“We’re trying to go for a healthy vibe with our proteins and our smoothies,” says owner Roger Villareal.

Employee Grace Rodriguez adds, “There’s a huge emphasis on fresh and healthy."

Villareal is leasing the nearly 1,700-square-foot café space in the small retail strip located a couple of blocks south of the Interstate 90-Argonne Road interchange. He is the previous co-owner of Monterey Café, 9 N. Washington downtown; Barks and Beans, a dog grooming and coffee shop formerly located at 1314 S. Grand, on Spokane's South Hill; and previous owner of T’s Lounge, a bar located at 703 N. Monroe, on the periphery of downtown. 

The current team includes two employees and Villareal, with plans to add more.

Villareal brainstormed the menu with his two current employees, Rodriguez and Jenni Rader-Bakos, who both have extensive hospitality experience, he says.

Rader-Bakos says the menu includes multiple vegan options.

“We’ll do juices and salads, and add rock cacao bites, similar to brownie bites,” says Rader-Bakos. “We take fine dates, peanut butter or almond butter, raw cacao, and cashews. We blend it all together, chill it, and roll them in sesame seeds. And we’ll have raw carrot cake bites.” 

Juices will include a variety of different colors, adds Rader-Bakos.

“We’ll have watermelon juice, a red juice, a green juice, some blue spirulina, and apple,” she says.

Villareal plans on adding additional salad options, including quinoa, in the future. 

“We’re going to have real fresh-pressed juices on hand, grab-and-go,” Villareal says. “We’re trying to go with a healthy kick to it. We’re going to offer six or seven salads … and four or five paninis.” 

Beans & Berries will source its coffee from Spokane-based Jacob’s Java, which operates Gemelli Coffee Roasting, at 2502 E. Sprague.

There’s a possibility Beans & Berries will add alcohol in the future.

Villareal started working on the $50,000 remodel in April. The majority of the investment went to restaurant equipment in the space, which was formerly occupied by The Spot Tattoo parlor, he says. Since there’s no traditional hood system in the building, menu items will consist mostly of salads and sandwiches, which are prepared with ventless cooking equipment.

The improvements include a large mural by local artist Hailey Clawson and a new kitchen prep area.

The café will seat up to 50 occupants and include two separate areas, including one with couches and chairs. A separate room will seat eight and can be reserved for meetings, says Villareal. “Anyone can use it, But if you want it, we can reserve for no cost.”

Construction is nearly complete, with only counters and refrigeration installation remaining.

After selling T’s Lounge in April 2024, Villareal initially planned on opening a drive-thru coffee shop with healthy food-to-go options. He purchased a small coffee stand in Spirit Lake and moved it to Spokane. 

“Our original concept was a drive-thru with grab-and-go salads and fresh pressed juices,” Villareal says.

His plans changed when his real estate agent, Kimberly Millet, of Bornhoft Commercial, found the current location.

The café will be open between 7 a.m. an 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., initially.

 Small Bites

Storage Solutions Appleway, located at 19311 E. Appleway in Spokane Valley, has teamed up with Phoenix-based moving equipment and storage rental company U-Haul International Inc. to become a U-Haul dealer.

The storage company will offer essential U-Haul services, including truck rentals and moving supplies.

The Crepe Café Sisters LLC have filed for a permit with the city of Liberty Lake to operate a temporary food truck at 1950 N. Harvest Parkway in Liberty Lake while a permanent restaurant location is under construction. The Crepe Café Sisters currently operates food trucks at the farmers market in Liberty Lake and the Kendall Yards neighborhood, as well as fixed locations at 441 N. Nettleton in Kendall Yards and in Leavenworth, Washington.

Aaron Fernald with Spokane Brewing Supply, on behalf of Salt King Brewery, has filed a building permit with the city of Spokane.  The application lists the project as an interior remodel of an existing 1,900-square-foot restaurant located at 1422 W. Third, previously occupied by a Subway fast-food restaurant space. The proposed brewery and taproom will seat 45 people.

Spokane Valley-based JBS Construction is listed as the contractor. Hoist LLC, also of Spokane Valley, is the architect on the project.