Spokane chef and restaurateur Tony Brown says he plans to open a new restaurant mid-year at 225 W. Riverside downtown.

Brown says the restaurant, to be named Eyvind, will occupy an 1,800-square-foot space previously occupied by a downtown furniture store on the first floor of the historic Bickett building.

“We’re just finishing up interior demolition, and we still need to choose a contractor, but we’re hoping to start construction next week,” he says.

Brown is leasing the space from developer Jed Conklin, who purchased the Bickett building in February 2014 and has been working to renovate its second and third floors into apartments.

While he doesn’t yet have an opening date, Brown says Eyvind should be ready to open in June, and he expects to hire at least 12 employees for it. 

Brown says remodeling work will include redoing all of the spaces’ electrical and plumbing, as well as adding two bathrooms, a full kitchen, a dining room, and a bar.

“We’re not looking to do anything too fancy,” he says. “My other restaurants were both more turnkey locations, so I do want to use this opportunity to put more of my personality into the design of the space.”

Brown is the owner of Ruins, a North Monroe Street eatery that opened in 2014.

Brown says the planned new restaurant is named after artist Eyvind Earle, whose surrealist style artwork features prominently in the Disney animated classic “Sleeping Beauty.”