SPOKANE — Last month, The Spokesman-Review dispatched a team of high school interns to talk with business leaders about the challenges they face from the homeless situation in Spokane.
Michael Whetstone, business manager of Tempus Cellars, at 8 N. Post St., said that his tasting room has experienced regular disturbances.
“There’s rarely a day I’m not rushed by somebody. They come in there and they want something,” Whetstone said. “It’s terrible. The vast majority of them are on drugs or something and are not in control of their facilities. A lot of them are violent.”
Whetstone has had several customers tell him they feel unsafe downtown, and he believes that city leaders aren’t putting enough effort into making the area safe.
“The whole thought is that the city just doesn’t care,” he said. “People come in here, have the same thought, and that’s not good for Spokane.”
Whetstone said a large part of the problem is the lack of police presence downtown.
“You never see police officers down here,” he said. “You used to see the ambassadors. You don’t see them anymore.”
Whetstone said homeless people often cause disturbances at neighboring businesses or up and down the sidewalk in front of Tempus Cellars.
Shayne Riordan, bar manager of Cochinito Taqueria at 10 N. Post St., said he kicked out someone who had walked in and began drinking cocktails off patrons’ tables.
“We don’t get a lot of vandalism down here at all. I’d say it’s more of a disturbance thing,” Riordan said. “We get a lot of people coming in and asking people for money across the entire dining room.”
Riordan said that the Cochinito staff values helping homeless persons out as much as they can.
“I’m happy to work with anybody that comes through the door,” he said. “We try to help get them back on the road … with a glass of water and some food. We more so just want to help them get back on the streets in a happy and healthy way.”
At No-Li Brewhouse, owner John Bryant said he has seen and experienced the vulnerability of the downtown area for more than a decade. Being a witness to it has led to a financial investment of increased security at this family-owned business at 1003 E. Trent Ave.
“No-Li will do what it has to do to always preserve safety for all customers and guests, and we’re investing more (money) into a metro security guard, cameras, lighting and fencing,” Bryant said.
Bryant is a glass-half-full type of businessman.
“I think it’s safe to say Spokane is not the safest city in America, and I think it’d be inspiring if we change the dialogue and the conversation and say, ‘How do we become that?’ ” Bryant said. “We have to engage (in) these issues and make difficult decisions to get a better outcome.”
Sydney Fluker, a recent Gonzaga University graduate, has noticed an increase in homeless activity around the college campus.
“There were people going through our trash or sleeping in our alley frequently, but they never bothered me,” Fluker said. “I didn’t find it affected my experience, but I know some students felt unsafe.”
Lauren D’Arienzo has owned Soulful Soups & Spirits, at 117 N. Howard St., for the past 13 years and said homelessness and related issues have gotten worse.
“I had an overdose in my restaurant,” she said. “Unfortunately, I’m a bit desensitized to it.”
D’Arienzo described an increase in vandalism of things such as garbage cans and walls, and people leaving behind trash. She said cleaning has “become very difficult, and honestly a bit dangerous, because of the presence of things like needles and feces.”
The problem costs money. Soulful Soups now schedules two employees at night for safety reasons. But those expenses go beyond employee pay, she said.
“It’s costing me more now with the stress levels that having more homeless downtown brings,” she said.
At the same time, Soulful Soups has seen fewer customers because of the same issues, and D’Arienzo wants city leaders to help find a solution.
“It’s not working, for sure,” she said. “My hope for Spokane is that we get back to how we were.”
D’Arienzo announced earlier this year that she intends to sell the business.
The general manager at Hotel Indigo Spokane hopes the situation improves for the safety of guests and employees.
Some of the problems, said hotel GM Jenna Hatfield, include graffiti and car break-ins.
The hotel’s employees now use a two-person safety system at the hotel and car parking area. She has been forced to communicate those safety precautions to prospective employees.
“Most everybody downtown has been impacted,” she said.
That hasn’t been the same experience for Becca Collard, the general manager at Wooden City Spokane. Collard said she and her entire staff feel comfortable at the restaurant located at 821 W. Riverside Ave.
Since the eatery opened in 2020, she hasn’t seen a dramatic increase in crime there. But she is aware of criminal activity in the area and relies on a security system and police officers.
“Work towards finding the solution,” she said. “What that solution is, it’s hard to say.”
Riley Donaldson, general manager of Findlay Lexus of Spokane, moved to Spokane this summer and said the Lilac City was not exactly what he was expecting.
“The homelessness problem is pretty severe. The rampant drug use is pretty severe,” Donaldson said. “It’s been a shock to me my first two weeks here.”
The downtown car dealership at 1030 W. 3rd Ave. has had cars damaged and property vandalized.
“There’s been many windows broken,” Donaldson said. “There’s been all sorts of human excrement on sidewalks.”
The dealership has had to take extra measures in order to keep property secure.
“We have to pay for full-time overnight security, like actual people to be here,” he said. “We’ve had to pay for new fencing and new cameras.”
Similar problems have occurred at Clark’s Cleaners, which has been a mainstay for decades. One of Clark’s locations, at 159 S. Division St., has experienced many problems.
Jack Gumm has been the manager of Clark’s Cleaners for about 10 years and said that problems related to the homeless population at the Division Street location have significantly increased.
“Well, you always got vandalism. You got drug abuse. You’ve got the constant paraphernalia that’s littered all over. You have defecation,” Gumm said. “I’ve seen gun trafficking. I’ve seen fornication. I mean, the list goes on.”
To increase security, Gumm put a fence around the building and makes sure the business always has two employees.
“They don’t just walk around, you know, one to two people,” Gumm said. “It’s a whole community of homelessness.”
Spokane Police officers clear people from the area regularly only to have them return, he said.
“I find myself blaming it on the homelessness,” Gumm said, “but that’s just being cynical about it, not opening the view of what it really is — and that is the drug use and the mental illness.”
Spokesman-Review high school summer interns contributing to this report include: Sofia Hessler, Hazel Guieb, Laura Sheikh, Marton Mezei, Claire Lyle and Caroline Saint James.
