Santé Restaurant & Charcuterie in Downtown Spokane is reopening as Smoke and Mirrors Saloon on April 1.
In December, Santé head chef and owner Jeremy Hansen posted about the decision to close the decade-old restaurant.
“With all Santé means to us, for reasons including a newly expanded family, divided efforts at our other locations, and the simple supply and demand in our culinary scene, Kate and I have decided it is time to make a change. This spring we will be serving our final dinner service at Santé, date and theme TBD. But in January we will bring back our original menu 1," Hansen wrote on Facebook.
"We have always examined what we are doing, how it is or isn’t working, and how we can challenge ourselves to be better. It is impossible to ignore the changes and growth our family, our other businesses and our city have been undergoing, and as part of that change, it’s time for our little corner of the Liberty Building to be reimagined,” he continued.
Santé was Hansen’s flagship restaurant in Spokane. The restaurant is known for its food made from scratch with local ingredients. Hansen is also the owner and chef at Inland Pacific Kitchen, Hogwash Whiskey Den, Biscuit Wizard and Common Crumb Artisan Bakery.
Hansen opened the restaurant 10 years ago, in the middle of a recession, on a mission to serve quality cuisine. People were quick to tell him it was a bad idea.
"What are you thinking? What are you doing? You're crazy. You're going to fail? So we right out of the gate got a lot of push back from the community," Hansen said.
Despite the push back, Sante thrived for years, continuously growing. But sales became stagnant over the last two years. Hansen decided to change it up.
"Sante as we know it will be gone," he said "We love the location. We love the building. We love the landlord. We love being in the middle of downtown so we don't want to leave."
Hansen told KREM 2 in December that he is changing style of the restaurant to give it a more saloon-like atmosphere.
"A different menu of course, smaller menu, more burgers," he said. "That style of eating and going out is kind of what the industry is moving towards anyways."
Hansen says they want to keep up with the current trends in the restaurant industry, while maintaining their current level of quality.
He also thanked the community and his customers for their support.
“We’ve loved the journey so far and will never stop dreaming! As a couple, as restaurateurs, as Spokanites, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts,” Hansen wrote.
Santé has been a place of innovation for the local restaurant scene. The restaurant has hosted guest chefs, cooking classes and many special dinners. They also had the chance to cook for the Beard House in New York City three times. It allowed Hansen to be a James Beard semi-finalist for Best Chef in the Northwest, which was a first for Spokane.
Hansen also used his cooking skills to help feed people back in November 2017 after Hurricane Maria hit in Puerto Rico.