Betty Lorenz and Evelyn Kamitomo, of Spokane, have opened The Dawg House, a new restaurant, at 913 E. Sharp.

The eatery occupies a 1500-square-foot house that formerly was owned by Gonzaga University. Lorenz says she and Kamitomo bought the structure, then gutted it to accommodate the restaurant.

"We wanted to keep the integrity of the neighborhood intact. If you were driving by you would think it was a house," she says.

Lorenz says the restaurant offers a menu of traditional staples with unusual twists, such as hoagie sandwiches with meats and sauces that are prepared at the restaurant. The Dawg House serves lunch and dinner, and all items on the menu are between $10 and $20.

The restaurant has two levels of seating, with a total of about 45 seats. It has an outside seating area.

Lorenz says her college-age children gave her the idea to create a menu that included home-cooked entrees when they complained about the lack of that type of food on the their college campuses.

Before opening the restaurant, Lorenz worked in the printing industry in Spokane for 30 years, owning Comet Press for the majority of that time before selling it four years ago.