Cottage Cafe offers breakfast, lunch

Talk about creating a cottage industry.

Restaurateurs Drew and Kim Baker did just that when they opened Cottage Cafe in Spokane Valley in April, specializing in breakfast and lunch items.

The 2,000-square-foot white-and-black restaurant was reconstructed from a building that once housed an upholstery shop. Now, passers-by along Appleway Boulevard can see window boxes filled with brightly colored flowers and smell the freshly baked cinnamon rolls that hints of what’s inside.

“Our batters are from scratch and we make cinnamon rolls every morning,” says Kim Baker, who along with her husband graduated from Post Falls High School in 1999. “You can get a cheeseburger at 6:30 a.m.,” she added about the no-time-limit menu.

The Cottage Cafe menu features traditional diner breakfast and lunch items and added a few specialties such as the Piccadilly Waffle that starts with a pecan Belgian waffle topped with vanilla ice cream, banana slices and whipped cream.

“I’ve always liked the breakfast-lunch hours,” says Drew Baker, who along with his spouse has worked several years in the restaurant industry across the Inland Northwest.

The restaurant seats 48 customers, offers beer and wine, and features outside dining as weather permits. They do not take reservations.

The couple partnered with Baker’s parents to open the restaurant. They wanted to create a relaxed, hip atmosphere that would appeal to all ages. They say well-known local restaurant restoration artisan Pat Jeppeson is largely responsible for the vision of Cottage Cafe.

And they agree that opening in the Valley was a good idea.

“Business has picked up a lot faster than we thought it would,” said Drew Baker. “We opened the doors, and we’ve been busy.”