SPOKANE, Wash. — The South Hill Grill posted an official announcement on Facebook and addressed rumors surrounding its closing.
In a Facebook post, the South Hill Grill said, “To all of our loyal long term customers, we know there is a lot of talk going around about us closing at the end of the month. This is NOT accurate, we still have till the end of October before Chick-fil-A demolishes our building.”
According to the post, they are currently looking for a new location to establish themselves before the October deadline. The South Hill Grill said they will continue to keep customers in the loop on their Facebook page for updates on their situation.
Plenty of customers have been showing their love on the restaurant’s page, commenting on their support for the restaurant and its staff, all while praising the restaurant's food.
Bill Speer has lived on the South Hill for nearly two decades. He said in 17 years, he’s seen many businesses come and go.
“Here's been a lot of changes going on," Speer said. "It's just you lived someplace long enough. And you know, it creeps up on you.”
But, even though change is expected, it doesn’t make the loss of neighborhood favorites any easier.
“Everybody I've talked to is a little bit upset about that," Speer said in response to potentially losing the South Hill Grill. "It's been an icon up here for years, you know, and we're not happy about that."
He said he’s not mad about the restaurant coming to the hill, but said a different location could better support anticipated and increased traffic.
"I can't even imagine more businesses then I calculated will probably leave there," Speer said. "We're probably talking 20 now because of just the hassle of that particular location. That's just not economically viable. It's just not sound.”
City communications manager Kirstin Davis said at a pre-development meeting earlier this month, the city told property developers make edits to their design to meet zoning regulations.
She said there were three potential problems from the current plan that needed to be addressed:
- Parking spaces - Davis said parking is over the allotted amount by 93 spaces.
- Sewage easement - Davis said the proposed location would not have proper support from the on-site sewer system.
- Exterior windows - Davis said there are design standards about windows facing the street that the plans do not meet.
She said while some may be looking forward to the development, a new location for the chicken sandwich giant won’t be built overnight.
“We're still a long ways from this actually happening," Davis said. "And so I know people get excited when they hear about it, and we understand that, but it's a very lengthy process for good reason so that we do look at all of it as it aligns with our building codes and our comprehensive plan.”
Still, people and businesses are preparing for the restaurant to take space on the hill, even at the expense of local favorites.
As of he South Hill Grill's closure announcement got over 400 reactions and 200 comments.
“Until then just keep showing your love and please also your patience while we continue to navigate through these tough times! We love you all and we are so sorry this is happening!”
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