For the restaurant changes below, see Inlander's reporting. Walk past Howard and First on a Tuesday morning and you'll find a line for waffles. Walk past the same corner on a Tuesday night now and you'll find the lights off on half the building. That's Emma Rue's and People's Waffle, two businesses that opened together in the same space back in 2021 and have been sharing walls ever since. One just went dark this past month. The other never missed a beat. If you want to understand what's happening in Spokane's food scene this September, that corner is one place to start—not as a verdict on either business, but as one example of a changing restaurant landscape.
The Building That Used To Be One Thing
Before it was Emma Rue's, the corner spot at 17 S. Howard spent 14 years as the Blue Spark, a fixture of downtown Spokane's nightlife scene long before either current tenant existed. Emma Rue's took over the south-facing half in 2021 as a day-to-night cafe and cocktail bar, then in 2024 narrowed its hours to focus exclusively on evening cocktail service, building a reputation as the place for post-dinner drinks and special occasions. In late August, owner Alyssa Agee announced on Instagram that the lounge would close its doors by August 30, and it has stayed closed since.
Inlander reported that the announcement said, "Emma Rue's is not gone forever but it is done for now."
That's the whole announcement in one line, and it leaves the door open without committing to anything. What isn't ambiguous is the other half of the building. People's Waffle, which launched alongside Emma Rue's in the same corner space, is continuing normal operations, still serving its mix of sweet and savory gluten-free waffles through the daytime hours the two businesses always split between them.
That contrast is one part of a broader set of restaurant changes around Spokane this summer.
Where The Growth Actually Went
While one corner went quiet, several other Spokane businesses made changes of their own in late summer.
4 Seasons Coffee Roasters has been roasting in Spokane since 1976. Now in its 50th year, the company just opened a second location inside Eastern Washington University's Catalyst Building at 601 E. Riverside Ave, where students and staff pass through during the day.
Mother Bear's Bakery started as a home-based cottage bakery, opened a storefront in the Town and Country neighborhood last year, and held a grand opening at its new location, 5503 N. Wall St., on September 1. It is the bakery's second storefront location.
Supa! Authentic Japanese Kitchen took the more straightforward route. After building out locations in Cheney, Post Falls and downtown Spokane, the sushi-by-the-pound and ramen concept opened a fourth location at 12801 E. Sprague Ave in Spokane Valley this summer, a stretch of Sprague that's been absorbing a steady run of new food and retail businesses this year. A few blocks away, Beans & Bind, a new bookstore cafe at 17325 E. Sprague Ave, opened August 1 serving beans roasted by DOMA Coffee Roasting Co. alongside its book selection. And Capitol Bar & Grill, which opened in Spokane Valley on August 7, has reportedly been packed every day since, according to Spokane Journal of Business coverage of the opening.
None of these are downtown addresses. These new locations are spread across the Spokane area.
Another Change On The South Hill
On the South Hill, Allie's Vegan Pizzeria & Cafe is set to move out of its longtime Grand Boulevard location by the end of September. No new address has been announced yet, though the business has said on Instagram that the new spot will let it offer more than the current one allows. Allie's planned move is another change for the Grand Boulevard corridor.
These restaurant changes are one part of a September that also includes local-food events and programming.
Why This Is All Happening In September
Some of the timing here isn't coincidence. September is Eat Local First Month, a designation Washington's Sustainable Connections Food and Farming program created and that Governor Bob Ferguson gave an official proclamation to this year. The idea, at its simplest, is eating food from producers you can actually name.
Billie's Diner in Airway Heights is a good example of what that looks like in practice. Owner McKenzie DonTigny says roughly 70 percent of what comes through the door is sourced locally, often specifically from Spokane-area producers, including eggs from Spokane Hutterian farms, mushrooms from Pacific Northwest Mushrooms, produce from Valleyford's Casa Cano Farms, and beef from Browning Beef in Spangle. The diner's menu changes with what's actually in season, tomatoes now, winter squash coming soon.
That same local-sourcing energy is showing up in September's event calendar. Dry Fly Distilling held a Barnyard Bash on August 29 to celebrate a new fair-themed canned cocktail. The Steam Plant Restaurant hosted a rooftop party the night before, complete with free tacos for first responders. The Shadle Park Library is hosting a harvest swap on September 19 for gardeners with more tomatoes and zucchini than they know what to do with, with similar swaps at the Airway Heights, Spokane Valley, and Cheney branches on September 1 and October 1.
None of this is why Emma Rue's went dark or why Supa! opened a fourth location. But it's the backdrop against which all of it is happening, a month when Spokane's food culture is actively pointing residents toward what's grown, made, and roasted close to home, right as the map of who's serving it gets redrawn.
What's Actually New To Try This Month
If you're deciding where to spend a Saturday morning or a weeknight dinner, here's what's changed on the ground:
- 4 Seasons Coffee Roasters, new second location inside EWU's Catalyst Building, 601 E. Riverside Ave
- Mother Bear's Bakery, opened its new location at 5503 N. Wall St. on September 1
- Beans & Bind, bookstore cafe now open at 17325 E. Sprague Ave in Spokane Valley
- Supa! Authentic Japanese Kitchen, fourth location now open at 12801 E. Sprague Ave
- Capitol Bar & Grill, open since August 7 in Spokane Valley
- HoneySpell Cafe, a fantasy-themed North Spokane cafe from Page 42 Bookstore's Emily Peterson, expected to open sometime this month
Emma Rue's is closed for now, but People's Waffle is still serving in the same building. Allie's Vegan Pizzeria is still open on Grand Boulevard for a few more weeks while it figures out where's next.
Spokane's food scene is changing: some businesses have closed or plan to relocate, while others have opened new locations.
If you're already calling Spokane home and keeping an eye on how your own neighborhood is changing, whether that's the restaurant lineup down the street or what your house might be worth in a market that's shifting just as fast, the team at Graves Re Group is always happy to talk through it. Reach out anytime for a free home valuation or just to compare notes on where to eat this week.
