Spokane International Airport has opened its first restaurant in a series of Inland Northwest-based establishments that are planned to operate in the airport's expanded Concourse C gate area in the next year.

The debut of Spokane chef Chad White’s Puerto Tortas Tacos Cantina marks the beginning of a partnership between Spokane International Airport and Ashburn, Virginia-based SSP America Inc., a food and beverage airport concessionaire.

“SSP America, in partnership with local brands and entrepreneurs like Chad White, develops restaurant concepts that will be coming into the airport,” says Alannah Toft, Spokane International Airport’s marketing and communications manager. “We have Puerto, which is Chad White’s concept. We’ll have Meltz from Coeur d’Alene. We’ll have The Yards Bruncheon, Jack & Dan’s, and Wiley’s Bistro.”

Toft says all contracts with the restaurants are managed by SSP America.

“When we went out to bid for the concessionaire, what we wanted was a local, regionally-rooted concept,” she adds. “SSP does the research. They approach and work with local brands to bring that airport concept to life.”

After closing his Zona Blanca ceviche bar in September 2024 following eight years of operation in downtown Spokane, White says his collaboration with SSP America is a dream realized.

“Every chef who has ever done really good things in their career is going to say, ‘The pinnacle is going to be having my restaurant in a stadium or in an airport,’” White says. “It was a no-brainer for me.”

Although SSP America owns the restaurant, under the name SSP America GEG LLC, White serves as the creative architect behind the menu, flavors, and concept.

“SSP owns and manages the brand,” White explains. “I do quarterly checks to make sure that recipes are being followed and that the food is up to my standards. … I’m not an employee at the airport or an employee of SSP. I get a percentage of the sales.”

White says he carried forward signature flavors from Zona Blanca without duplicating the original.

“The name Puerto was my idea,” he says. “Branding is similar to what Zona Blanca was. The branding was right, and we’re trying to keep that brand alive. I didn’t want the two to have the same concept because I was closing Zona Blanca.”

While Zona Blanca’s menu was nearly 95% seafood, White notes that the new menu features only two seafood items.

“This is Baja meets Pacific Northwest,” he says.

Breakfast dishes include a breakfast torta — a sandwich made with bacon or chorizo, cage-free eggs, refried beans, Monterey Jack cheese, and pickled red onions on a telera roll — and chilaquiles, served with queso fresco, salsa, and crispy tortilla chips.

Starters include traditional quesadillas and wings, along with a ceviche-inspired creation: a mix of nacho cheese Doritos, shrimp, hot Tajin sauce, cucumbers, Japanese peanuts, gummy bears, and aguachile roja, served in a Doritos bag.

“It sounds strange,” says Toft. “But you have to taste it, and then you get it. It’s fabulous.”

The Tijuana Torta is a menu favorite, White says, explaining that it’s a sandwich served with carne asada, Monterey Jack cheese, tomato escabeche, an achiote spice blend, cilantro, and mayonnaise. Tacos also are offered, featuring chorizo picadillo, chicken, and tilapia options.

Specialty drinks at the new venue include classic margaritas, lemon drops, Bloody Marys, and alcohol-free mocktails. 

Over the next year, multiple eateries — including The Yards Bruncheon, Jack & Dan’s, Wiley’s Bistro, Iron Goat Brewing, Method Juice Cafe, and Indaba Coffee, all of which are based in Spokane, as well as Coeur d'Alene-based Meltz Extreme Grilled Cheese — will open at the airport. Thomas Hammer Coffee, which currently operates a pop-up site on Concourse C, will eventually settle into a space on the rotunda, where another new venue, Spokane-based Shelby's Burgers, also is planned, Toft says.

“Before we could just flip everything over into the local concepts, we had to bring in interim locations to keep consistency,” she says. “The goal is to be a reflection of what you have in the community.”

Small Bite

Indigenous Chic has opened on Nov. 1 in River Park Square, at 808 W. Main, Suite 223. The boutique, founded by the owners of Spokane’s Indigenous Eats, features clothing, jewelry, accessories, and home decor handcrafted by Indigenous artists and artisans, according to its website. 

Editor's note: This article has been updated with the names of multiple eateries planned to open at the airport in the next year.