An 1890 brick warehouse-turned-restaurant in central downtown Spokane, with documented Prohibition-era liquor-warehouse history, a basement tunnel to the Davenport Hotel, and staff reports of 1920s-attired rum-runner apparitions.
152 S Monroe St, Spokane, WA 99201
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Full-service Italian restaurant; family-friendly pricing.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Ground-floor dining accessible; basement seating reached by stairs.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1890 · 1890 brick warehouse, post-Great-Fire reconstruction era · Original use as liquor warehouse documented in library walking-tour materials · Basement tunnel to the Davenport Hotel; consistent with Prohibition-era smuggling network · Washington's 1916 Prohibition pre-dated federal Prohibition by five years
The building at 152 South Monroe Street was built in 1890 as a brick commercial warehouse during Spokane's post-Great-Fire reconstruction boom. Period accounts and Spokane Public Library walking-tour documentation identify the building's original use as a liquor warehouse, and later as a grocery and mail-order warehouse through the early twentieth century.
A basement tunnel runs from the building east toward the Davenport Hotel, documented in the Spokane Public Library haunted walking tour and Spokesman-Review historic-dining guide. The tunnel is consistent with documented Prohibition-era smuggling and delivery networks in downtown Spokane — Washington State adopted Prohibition in 1916, five years before the federal Volstead Act, making Spokane an early hub for liquor-smuggling routes.
The Old Spaghetti Factory chain (founded 1969 in Portland, Oregon) opened its Spokane location in the building, preserving the original brick walls, exposed beams, and warehouse character as part of OSF's signature historic-building aesthetic. The Spokane location remains in continuous restaurant operation.
Sources
Per the Spokane Public Library's haunted walking-tour PDF, KREM's 13-haunted-places coverage, and the Cinder Smoke ghost-tour writeup, OSF staff have for years reported apparitions of figures in 1920s attire — generally characterized as Prohibition-era rum-runners — both inside the dining areas and on the historic loading platform behind the building. Additional sightings have been reported in the kitchen and back-of-house spaces during late-night closing.
The lore is anchored in the documented historical use of the building (liquor warehouse) and the documented basement tunnel to the Davenport Hotel, which together provide an unusually concrete material context for the ghost reports. The Spokesman-Review's historic-dining guide notes the building's tunnel and warehouse provenance in the same entry as the modern restaurant. The reports are largely staff-attributed and have not been formally investigated.
Notable Entities
Dine in the 1890 former liquor warehouse; OSF preserves the brick walls, beams, and warehouse character. The basement-to-Davenport tunnel is part of the location's documented history.
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