Spokane business owner Mary Moltke plans in June to open a new eatery, called E.J.'s Garden Bistro, in a newly remodeled and updated 19-century home in Spokane's historic Browne's Addition.

Moltke says she encountered a number of unexpected hurdles during the renovation of the house, at 1928 W. Pacific, and the restaurant's planned opening is later than when she originally had hoped to debut the venture.

Moltke also owns the nearby, historic E.J. Roberts Mansion, which she operates as a bed and breakfast and as an event center. The mansion is located at 1923 W. First, directly north of the planned restaurant.

The kitchen of the new E.J.'s Garden Bistro also will be used to prepare food for catered events at the mansion, Moltke says.

The bistro's menu will include traditional and eclectic food that feature seasonal ingredients, as well as herbs and vegetables grown in the restaurant's and mansion's gardens, she says.

Moltke says the business likely will employ 14 people year-round, and could add around five more seasonal employees at busier times of the year.

E.J.'s Garden Bistro is expected to seat about 85 people inside and 15 people outdoors during warmer months, she says. The restaurant's bar and lounge, along with a small banquet room for private parties, are to be located on the second floor of the 2,200-square-foot building.

Because the bistro will occupy a 125-year-old historic structure that's listed on the National Register of Historic Places and on the Spokane Register of Historic Places, Moltke says the project permitting process took longer than she anticipated.

She says age-related structural issues with the building that were discovered during the remodeling process also required extra time and attention. During the building renovation, she says, part of its foundation wall caved in, and the chimney unexpectedly had to be removed and rebuilt.

Moltke says the home was constructed in 1887 and originally was owned by the Guse family, of Spokane. It's located at the northeast corner of the traffic-circle intersection of Pacific Avenue and Cannon Street, directly across the street from the Elk Public House restaurant and bar.

Moltke served as her own general contractor for the project, and Spokane architects Steven R. Radkey and Ronald D. LaBar designed the remodel.