Little Euro LLC, a company owned partly by owners of the Old European Breakfast House on Spokane's North Side, has bought the former Victoria's On Pines building, in Spokane Valley, and plans to open a new eatery there in mid-June.

Victoria's On Pines closed earlier this year and vacated the building, located at 517 N. Pines.

After remodeling the structure's interior, Little Euro is expected to open as a smaller venue for Old European's menu items, along with offering drive-thru espresso service.

Dave and Tami Sevier, co-owners of the LJKK Olde Europe LLC, which operates the Old European restaurant at 7640 N. Division, are partnering with an employee and her husband, Lotus Leong and Larry Chesbrough, to open Little Euro. Tami Sevier says Little Euro bought the Spokane Valley building in March for $430,000.

Little Euro plans to spend more than $100,000 to remodel about 2,000 square feet to provide seating for 60 people. The company plans to hire about 15 employees, who will be a mixture of part-time and full-time workers, Tami Sevier says.

Little Euro will serve Danish heritage foods for breakfast and lunch that are similar to those offered at three Old European restaurants in the Inland Northwest, Sevier says.

The Seviers also are co-owners along with a family member of an Old European eatery in Post Falls. That family member owns a third Old European outlet in Pullman.

Tami Sevier says her brother previously had owned a fourth outlet at 11520 E. Sprague in Spokane Valley, but it closed about five years ago. She adds that at the 185-seat North Division restaurant, they often hear from customers who'd like an Old European outlet to return to the Valley. The restaurants feature made-from-scratch items based on old family recipes.

"It seemed like a good location for us, and we wanted to try a smaller model than we have on the North Side," Sevier says about the new venture. "We didn't have a drive-thru espresso anywhere, and we noticed this building was available, and it was in our price range."

She says Little Euro plans to upgrade equipment for faster drive-thru espresso service. The partners are doing most of the refurbishing work themselves, she adds, along with a few hired subcontractors. She says Dawn Kiki and Catherine Boles, with Paint Room Studios of Spokane, are the project's designers.

Eventually, she says the business owners hope to expand outside of the Inland Northwest, perhaps starting with Boise.