A Tractor Supply Co. store soon will occupy a former Shopko building at 13414 E. Sprague in Spokane Valley.

The new retail store for the Brentwood, Tennessee-based company is scheduled to open as early as this summer, according to information provided to the Journal by Tractor Supply.

Spokane Valley is considered a prime location for Tractor Supply because of the rate the city is growing and its history of agriculture, according to the company's response to a Journal inquiry.

The Spokane Valley store will mark the second Tractor Supply location in Spokane County. A Deer Park store opened last year at 425 W. Crawford. Another Tractor Supply is located at 131 W. Neider, in Coeur d’Alene, and two recently opened stores in Athol and Kellogg, Idaho.

For the time being, the company is focusing on the Spokane Valley store and currently doesn't have plans for more Spokane-area stores.

                                                                                                                                                                                    -Dylan Harris
The Spokane Valley Tractor Supply Co. will be the retailer's second store in Spokane County. A Deer Park location opened last year.

A $1 million renovation project began at the former Shopko building earlier this month, permit information on file with the city of Spokane Valley shows.

The building is over 34,000 square feet, permit information shows, however it is not yet clear how much of the building it will occupy. Typically, Tractor Supply stores have about 15,500 square feet of indoor space, according to the company’s website.

Spokane-based Tombari & Grant Properties LLC is listed as the site owner on the tenant improvement permit. Glen Oxford, of Nashville, Tennessee-based Oxford Architecture is listed as the project’s architect, and Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin-based Lakeview Construction LLC is the project’s contractor.

The Spokane Valley store will employ about 15 people, with about half of those jobs being full-time positions.

Tractor Supply serves farmers, ranchers, growers, and other consumers, offering an array of products including clothing, boots and shoes, lawn and garden supplies, sporting goods equipment, tools, home décor, and automotive supplies.

The Spokane Valley store is one of about 80 Tractor Supply stores the company plans to open nationwide in 2024, according to a February press release regarding capital plans for the year. Currently, Tractor Supply has over 2,200 stores in 49 states, the company’s website shows.

The Spokane Valley Shopko was one of three Spokane County Shopko retail stores to close in 2019. An Ashley Homestore furniture and mattress outlet opened at the Spokane Valley site in 2021, but it has since closed.

The former North Spokane Shopko, located at 9520 N. Newport Highway, is now occupied by HomeGoods and Ross Dress for Less retail stores.

The former South Hill Shopko, located at 4515 S. Regal, is the proposed site for a future Home Depot store, as reported previously by the Journal. Environmental approval has been applied for and construction of the new home-improvement store could begin as early as this summer.

Small Bites

*Spokane International Airport has announced a new lineup of restaurants and drinkeries for its facilities, including in the Concourse C gate area that is still under construction. 

The establishments, most of which have ties to the Spokane and Coeur d’Alene area, include Jack & Dan’s Tavern, Iron Goat Brewing Co., Wanderlust Delicato, Wiley’s Downtown Bistro, Shelby’s Burgers, Meltz Extreme Grilled Cheese, Method Juice Café, Thomas Hammer Coffee Roasters, and Starbucks.

A pair of prominent Inland Northwest restaurateurs also will open eateries at the airport. 

Chef Chad White, who owns Zona Blanca Ceviche Bar, in downtown Spokane, and co-owns TT’s Brewery & BBQ, in Spokane Valley and Liberty Lake, will open Zona Tortas & Tacos at the airport.

Chef Adam Hegsted, who owns Eastern Washington and North Idaho restaurants such as The Yards Bruncheon, Honey Eatery & Social Club, Française, Baba, and Republic Kitchen & Taphouse, will open a second Yards Bruncheon location at the airport.

The Spokane Airport Board unanimously decided to award SSP America, an Ashburn, Virginia-based operator of worldwide food and beverage brands in travel locations, a 10-year contract to lease, develop, and manage Spokane International Airport’s concessions program, according to a press release. SSP America is a division of London-based SSP Group.

*Brick West Brewing Co.’s plans for a second brewing facility are on hold due to high construction costs, says Brick West co-owner Jordan Tampien.

In December 2022, the Journal reported that the Spokane brewery’s owners had purchased a 6-acre site at 1624 S. Spotted Road, just north of Spokane International Airport.

At the time, construction was expected to begin in the summer of 2023, with hopes of a grand opening a year later. 

Tampien says he will know more about the future of that project toward the end of this year.