Downtown Spokane...Chicken-N-More plans move to former China Best location

Downtown eatery Chicken-N-More, located at 502 W. Sprague, plans to move within the next six months to larger quarters it has leased at 223 W. Riverside, says Bob Hemphill, the restaurant's co-owner.

The 3,000-square-foot location on Riverside is more than triple the size of the space the southern-themed

restaurant has occupied for the last decade. Hemphill says he wants to move Chicken-N-More partly because business has been good and he needs room to grow, but also because of looming plans to build a highrise office tower on the block the restaurant currently occupies. Those plans have been delayed, and although Hemphill says he hasn't been given notice that he needs to move, he believes it won't be long before it arrives.

"They're eventually going to tear it down, so I might as well prepare," he says. "It's in the air."

Hemphill plans to spend more than $60,000 remodeling Chicken-N-More's new quarters. A former contractor, he plans to do some of the work himself. The rest of the remodeling will be done by Spokane Restaurant Equipment Inc., he says.

The Riverside location also could serve as a model for future franchises, he says, claiming that he frequently is approached about franchising the Chicken-N-More concept, but doesn't think the business is ready for that step yet.

The space on Riverside formerly housed China Best Inc. restaurant, which moved across the street three years ago.