Coyol Cocina opens in Coeur d'Alene with family recipes and culture

Coyol Cocina & Tequila opened its doors at 482 W. Sunset Ave. on Monday, June 15, turning the former Chili’s building by Fred Meyer into a family-run Mexican restaurant and tequila bar. Owner Luis Pelayo said the goal was to bring traditional Mexican cuisine to a corridor that already pulls traffic from U.S. 95 and I-90.

Pelayo said many of the dishes come from family recipes that have been passed down through generations, giving Coyol a story built as much on heritage as on location. He said the name Coyol comes from Nahuatl, a native language of south Mexico, and means “queen of the full moon,” a nod to the restaurant’s cultural identity as it enters the Coeur d’Alene market.

The choice of the Sunset Avenue site also reflects a bet on visibility and reuse. A commercial brochure for the former Chili’s property described the building as about 5,853 square feet on roughly 0.946 acres, with easy access to both major highways and steady traffic from the nearby Fred Meyer store. Coyol was publicly identified as the future tenant months before opening, signaling that the long-vacant restaurant space was being repositioned for another dining concept rather than left idle.

Pelayo’s path to the business stretches across 23 years in food service, from dishwashing to serving, cooking and management before becoming part owner at age 40. He said he came from Ayutla, Jalisco, Mexico, worked restaurant jobs in Denver, Missoula and North Dakota, and later settled in Rathdrum in 2024 after his wife’s family connection to the area. Idaho Secretary of State records show Team Coyol LLC was filed on May 8, 2025, with Luis A. Pelayo listed as registered agent at the Sunset Avenue address.

The family is also using the opening to test a larger concept. Pelayo said Tony, who has worked for his family for 15 years, is the bar manager. He added that the family would like to open another restaurant in Post Falls, but would not franchise the business, suggesting Coyol is being built as a hands-on, local operation rather than a chain play.

Coyol’s hours are Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Local listings describe it as an upscale Mexican restaurant and tequila bar with a large outdoor patio overlooking Highway 95, a setup that fits the corridor’s car traffic and gives the space a more prominent street presence than the closed Chili’s it replaced. The opening also lands amid a cluster of other new businesses around Kootenai County, adding to the sense that commercial activity is moving again along key local retail and restaurant corridors.