People's Waffle opens downtown Coeur d'Alene with gluten-free menu

People's Waffle opened its downtown Coeur d'Alene shop on May 22 at 400 N. Fourth St., betting that a waffle-first breakfast and brunch concept can hold its own in a core where foot traffic, tourism and restaurant competition all matter. The space seats 87, but Jacy Janson said the grand opening pulled in roughly 250 to 275 people, an early sign that the idea has traction well beyond a novelty first look.

The menu leans hard into that identity. People's Waffle serves six sweet waffles, six savory waffles and four waffle sandwiches, all of it gluten-free. Among the early favorites, Janson said, are a sample-style sweet flight, a Benedict-style savory waffle and a BLT waffle sandwich finished with garlic aioli. The shop also sells specialty coffees and teas, plus matcha and mimosas, and uses a whole-orange juicer, giving the restaurant a breakfast-counter feel that is more deliberate than grab-and-go.

The concept started in Spokane in 2020, when Alyssa Agee launched it as a food truck using a family recipe from her grandmother. Janson said she applied to join the ownership team in 2022 and came aboard in 2024, helping push the business from mobile operation to a brick-and-mortar location in Coeur d'Alene. That path matters in a city where diners already know the Spokane version and where some Idaho customers, including people from Post Falls and surrounding communities, had been driving across the state line before the local shop opened.

That built-in customer base suggests People's Waffle is aiming for more than seasonal tourists. The shop is open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., a schedule built for repeat breakfast traffic, and the addition of a kids menu and a 15% discount for active military members points to a family-oriented, neighborhood strategy. The target customer appears to be everyone from gluten-free diners to brunch regulars, Spokane loyalists and downtown workers looking for an easy morning stop.

The opening also lands at a time when downtown Coeur d'Alene is absorbing growth pressure. The city’s population was estimated at 58,179 on July 1, 2025, up 6.5% from the 2020 census base, and city planning materials describe downtown as the community’s civic heart, with pedestrian movement, active public spaces and historic character at the center of its future. The Downtown Core Working Group formed in May 2024 amid concerns over development and preservation, giving each new opening added weight. With Habit Burger & Grill also opening in Coeur d'Alene and more food and retail ventures arriving in Kootenai County, People's Waffle is another test of whether downtown can keep turning growth into steady morning business.