October 22, 2026
Hillyard's Newest Businesses Are Moving Into Small Rooms in Old Buildings
Las Delicias de Isa is aiming to open in the 1907 Nebraska building, Cursed Brewing has filed plans next door, and a vintage mall just opened. Plus Market Street dates through December.
Photo: SpokaneWilly, CC BY-SA 4.0
“I’ve been having a lot of customers from Texas, Arizona, San Diego and California…they all say ‘This takes me back home,’” Isabel “Isa” Varela told KREM this fall. She is a first-time business owner, and she hopes to open Las Delicias de Isa on Market Street on November 21.
The restaurant is moving into a building with more than a century of turnover behind it, and it won’t be the only tenant there. That’s the pattern on Market Street this fall. New businesses are renting small rooms in old buildings, often sharing an address with businesses already in place, and for several of them it’s the first permanent home they’ve had.
One Address, a Long List of Former Tenants
The Nebraska building at 5008 N. Market St. went up in 1907. The Spokesman-Review’s “The Dirt” column traced its history through the Spokane County Historic Preservation Office, and the list of businesses that have used it reads like a timeline of the neighborhood.
- Walker Grocery Store
- Imperial Pool & Beer Parlor
- Bon Ton Restaurant
- Gibson Billiards
- Trowbridge Jewelers
- Barker’s Cafe
- The Quilter’s Corner, the current tenant
The building’s current owners bought it in 2021. According to city building permit records cited in the same column, they’ve since updated the facade, redone the plumbing, mechanical, and electrical systems, and installed commercial kitchen equipment.
That kitchen is what makes the Nebraska building’s next chapter possible. A restaurant with a modest budget usually can’t start by building a commercial kitchen from scratch. The owners’ investment in plumbing and kitchen gear is a big part of why a small Mexican restaurant can now open in a 1907 storefront.
Two Businesses, One Historic Building
The Quilter’s Corner moved to 5008 N. Market at the start of 2026. The Spokane Journal of Business reported that the new storefront is 850 square feet, and the shop offers fabric, quilting, repairs, alterations, lessons, and longarm quilting services.
Las Delicias de Isa is now moving into the same building. Its current location is at 7919 N. Altamont St., just outside city limits near Crestline Street, and Varela also sells at a handful of farmers markets around town, according to the Spokesman-Review. A remodel permit application has been filed for the Market Street space.
The published reports don’t say how the two businesses will split the building. What’s clear is that a quilting shop and a restaurant will be working out of one 1907 address that once housed a grocery store and a billiards hall. November 21 is the date Varela is aiming for, not a guaranteed grand opening, so check the restaurant’s own channels before planning dinner around it.
Next Door, a Brewery Exploring 500 Square Feet
A few addresses up, the United Building at 5016 N. Market St. is already home to three businesses: Crazy Train Eatery, Derailer Coffee, and Bear Totem Table and Tankard.
In September, the Spokesman-Review reported that Cursed Brewing had submitted a remodel permit application to the city for a space in the building. Cursed is a Spokane microbrewery that so far has only poured at events and sold cans through distribution. A Market Street spot would be its first brick-and-mortar location.
The plans call for just 500 square feet, about 60% of the Quilter’s Corner’s 850-square-foot storefront at 5008, with a $15,000 remodel to fit out the space. St. John-based architecture firm Hoist designed the project, and the owners plan to do the construction themselves.
Co-owners and brewers Rhyann and Matt Davis are still at the early stage. “At this time, we aren’t interested in making any official announcements about our project until we have secured permits and licensing,” Matt Davis told the Spokesman-Review. For now, the brewery is a filed application and a possibility, not a set opening date.
Here’s how the 5000 block stacks up:
| Address | Building | Who’s there or planned | Status as of mid-October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5008 N. Market St. | Nebraska building, 1907 | The Quilter’s Corner | Open since January 2026 |
| 5008 N. Market St. | Nebraska building, 1907 | Las Delicias de Isa | Aiming for a November 21 opening |
| 5016 N. Market St. | United Building | Crazy Train Eatery, Derailer Coffee, Bear Totem Table and Tankard | Open |
| 5016 N. Market St. | United Building | Cursed Brewing | Remodel permit application filed; no announcement yet |
Farther Up the Block, a Room Full of Vendors
Farther north at 5420, the same idea runs at a larger scale. Thrill of the Hunt Vintage and Mercantile held its official grand opening on September 1 at 5420 N. Market St., with door prizes and specials and an open invitation to “come meet our vendors.”
A vendor mall is the clearest example of the pattern. Lots of small sellers who couldn’t each support a storefront share one roof on Market Street. The Hillyard Creative District’s business directory still lists the shop as “coming soon,” but the doors have been open since Labor Day week.
Between the two, at 5218 N. Market St., is Hillyard Built. It’s a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that funds youth enrichment opportunities in Hillyard, mostly by selling merchandise designed locally. Its retail shop opened on August 3, 2024, which makes it one of the more established storefronts in this stretch.
When to Walk the Block Between Now and December
The Hillyard calendar lines up well with the storefront changes. The events below fall on or near the blocks where these businesses are opening:
- Saturday, October 31, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Market Street Tricks & Treasures, a free community trunk-or-treat on Market Street from Wellesley Avenue to Nebraska Avenue. The event listing invites families to join “over 500 of your Hillyard neighbors,” and the first 300 young trick-or-treaters to stop by the Hillyard Built store get a free reusable tote.
- Thursday, November 19, 4 to 8 p.m.: The Hillyard Third Thursday Art Walk along the Market Street corridor, with pop-up galleries, live art demonstrations, and family activities. The Creative District’s 2026 schedule lists this as the last art walk of the year, with no December date.
- Saturday, November 21: Varela’s target date for Las Delicias de Isa, two days after the art walk.
- Saturday, December 12, 6 to 10 p.m.: Hillyard Built’s Annual Holiday Party at Neon Moon, an ugly-sweater party with music, food, a raffle, and karaoke.
Because the November art walk is the last one of 2026, it’s the final scheduled evening this year to see the whole corridor with galleries open. That timing puts it just days before the newest restaurant on the block hopes to open.
Getting There Without the Car
The City of Spokane lists its Wellesley Avenue reconstruction from Freya to Havana as complete. The work included street trees, stormwater improvements, a sidewalk on the north side, and a shared-use path on the south side.
The Children of the Sun Trail section from Columbia Avenue south to Carlisle Avenue has been open since June 2024. WSDOT names Market Street at Wellesley Avenue and the Hillyard Historic Business District as community connection points along that stretch. WSDOT’s trail map also lists an access point at Francis Avenue and Market Street, plus trailheads with parking at Freya Street and at Columbia Avenue and Market Street.
The Tricks & Treasures route starts at that same Wellesley corner and runs to Nebraska Avenue. The Nebraska building, the United Building, Hillyard Built, and Thrill of the Hunt all sit along one stretch of the same street.
If you want to talk about what these small Market Street storefronts mean for the blocks around them, or you just want to compare notes on your favorite stop between the trail and Nebraska Avenue, John Kennedy is happy to sit down with you. Schedule a free consultation, and bring your list of Hillyard spots.
