Apr. 18—When Chris Bell came back home to Spokane nearly 20 years ago, one of the first deals he completed was to pay dues for a membership at the Spokane Club.

"I made a conscious decision that I wanted to be around the business-makers in Spokane," said Bell, the managing broker at NAI Black Commercial Real Estate Services. "Whether by sharing a lunch or a bottle of wine or on a treadmill, that's where the deals got made."

The idea of the power lunch, or business lunch, where two sides hash out the framework of a deal, lost much of its allure after the Great Recession.

Then all personal contact stopped cold during the forced shutdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Now, several sources said, the power lunches are again on the rise, even if those meetings are occurring earlier at coffee shops or later in the evening at local breweries.

"I feel like right now we are back," said Lisa Poplawski Lewis, vice president of development and partnerships at Greater Spokane Incorporated. "In my world, we are meeting with people again. It genuinely feels like we are back, in terms of meeting one-on-one and face-to-face."

The social shutdown also brought innovations that may never go away, like the Zoom conference call, she said.

Bell said his grandfather, the late James S. Black, would mail letters to potential customers and sometimes wait weeks for a reply.

Before COVID, coordinating with officials to visit Spokane from faraway locations could take months, Poplawski Lewis said.

"With Zoom, things can move faster and we can develop quicker relationships. There is definitely a benefit to that," she said. "But I think meeting in person is so important.

"There are so many intangibles that come with the ability to see somebody face to face. To shake their hand, or if you are a hugger, which I am, it just feels like a lot more connection — just instantaneous empathy between the two of you."

Bell agreed.

"There is no substitute for getting face-to-face with people," he said. "With COVID, it turned everything on end, but people always longed for that human connection in deal-making."

While the pandemic forced those deals into chatrooms and Zoom conference calls, something was missing, he said.

"I had a deal I was working on for $28 million. It wouldn't have happened without sitting on the same side of the table with a seller," Bell said. "When you are looking at someone in the face, it's harder for them to summarily say no. You get to craft your pitch, craft your delivery and work on the art of negotiation."

As a sign things are rebounding, Spokane's downtown parking stalls are becoming harder to find and restaurants again are requiring reservations.

"It's more prevalent now because people are longing for that connection," Bell continued. "You take things for granted when you don't have them. And so now, people have gone back and see the value of that."

The changing comeback

The Spokane Metro Area lost about 14,000 jobs starting in 2008 as the financial system began to falter under years of banks' approving "subprime" loans without proper collateral.

As the economy slid, business leaders tended to move away from those meetings where deals were hashed out, said Gary Ballew, the vice president of economic development at GSI.

"Coming out of the 2008 recession, there was a lot" fewer business lunches, he said. "If you are dealing with a local company and trying to help them expand ... the personal connections are important, but they are happening on site. They are quicker."

At the same time power lunches started to fade during the Great Recession, the Spokane Club membership also suffered, said general manager Harmukh "Molly" Sandhu.

"We used to have close to 8,000 or 9,000 members in 2008 or 2009," Sandhu said. "We have half that today."

The club, which was founded in 1890 by civic leaders after the great fire of 1889 virtually destroyed the downtown, is on a five-month run of membership growth, he said.

"That hasn't happened for 20 years," Sandhu said. "It's almost like after COVID, there is this need for people to get back into the stream of things. It's definitely an exciting time for us."

Ross Blevins, 34, the commercial manager for family-owned H&H Molds Inc. of Spokane, said he's been going to the Spokane Club since he was a teenager.

"I came out of college in 2011, so just as we were starting to come out of the depths of the Great Recession," he said.

While he's attended a few power lunches, he said that is not his primary time to meet business clients.

"I feel like there has always been a focus of productivity during the day," he said. "So a beer or cocktail after work, that's when those meetings occurred, from my perspective."

Tom Simpson, president and CEO of Ignite Northwest, which mentors and supports emerging companies in the region, said the Spokane Club has always played a role, but other meeting places include the Manito Golf and Country Club and local restaurants.

"I was never a power lunch guy," Simpson said.

But, he noticed that activity is picking up downtown. "It's harder to find a parking spot," he said. "You need reservations now for dinner."

Simpson said he's noticed business meetings have shifted to new locations, like Brick West Brewing, at 1318 W. First Ave., and Indaba Coffee, at 518 W. Riverside Ave.

"Rather than saying, 'Let's do lunch,' now they say, 'Let's meet for coffee' or a cool beverage somewhere," Simpson said. "I'm old school. But, meeting someone face to face, particularly if you are trying to develop a partnership or a relationship, it's just more effective."

Bell, of NAI Black, said most restaurants do not make good meeting places.

"You are looking for opportunities where you can have a private conversation. Churchill's (Steakhouse) is the first to come to mind or even Spencer's for steaks and chops," he said. "It's the environment. High-backed chairs. Private areas."

Emilie Cameron, who was hired 10 months ago as the new president and CEO of the Downtown Spokane Partnership, has been using business lunches to get to know her adopted city.

"I joke that I'm trying to eat my way through downtown Spokane," she said. "As I've met with individuals, I've been able to learn what motivates them and inspires them.

"That's something that you cannot mimic if you are not in person," Cameron continued. "There is something to be said for having a good meal, too."

I feel like right now we are back. It genuinely feels like we are back, in terms of meeting one-on-one and face-to-face." Lisa Poplawski Lewis, Greater Spokane Incorporated