Geno's sold out; it turned into Geno's, which subsequently got damaged in a fire; it got sold during a literal fire sale, and it is now Geno's. Hey, at least the name lives on, but the actual restaurant has changed drastically, from a subpar Italian spot to yet another Elk. (Or Moontime I suppose.)
So what can you expect here? More the Elk, really. I mean, you know exactly what to expect if you have visited any of the other -- what? -- four Elks? The food is for all intents and purposes the same as any of the other spots, which is fine. There are additions and changes, but nothing major. You can expect what is expected; why mess with the formula?
As for the things that make Geno's stand out just a bit:
The Elk is well known for a good tap selection, and surprisingly that is where Geno's falls flat, at least for now. There are eight or so taps, all carrying the standard baseline Spokane fare, with No-Li being the premium choice during our visit. Worse still were the frosted glasses. I mean, come on. This isn't, or shouldn't be, Hop Jack's.
Hopefully this is all just a holdover from Geno's, Jr.
On the flipside, the cocktails were good. The "blueberry tea" didn't have any type of blueberry flavoring in it, though you could have fooled me. A great winter warmer.
Interior wise you simply get Geno's, Jr. with a spark of the Elk. It's not exactly an interior decorator's dream, but it does the job well enough. Geno's certainly has a comfortable atmosphere.
Other than that? The food was good, right up to the Elk's standards. Actually, bonus points for cooking the the gnocchi close to perfectly. Few places around town manage to do so. The red lentil burger, too, was great.
Again, Geno's is the Elk in a different location. There's nothing wrong with that, and I'd be surprised if they didn't do well here.
The real question is, how many more Elks do we really need?