Boots Bakery & Lounge, one of Spokane’s most beloved spots for vegan food and a hub for community gatherings, is losing its longtime home on West Main Avenue.
Owner Alison Collins posted online an eviction notice from the bakery’s landlord requiring that the bakery vacate the premises by Dec. 31 unless it stops on-site production of its savory menu items and baked goods for its wholesale accounts. The notice says that Boots can stay if the bakery limits on-site production to only “pastries, sweets and your signature pumpkin waffles.”
The letter, dated Oct. 14, gave Boots more than 60 days to terminate its tenancy or agree to the new terms. Boots’ home at 24 W. Main Ave. is the first floor corner of a 113-year-old, four story building called the Longbotham, owned by local property developer Dan Spalding. (Spalding could not be immediately reached for comment; we will update this post if we hear from him.)
Collins says she was completely blindsided by the notice, and by Spalding’s lack of a clear explanation for why he wants Boots — which has operated there for over 10 years — out. Since she shared the eviction letter, hundreds of community members have commented on that original post, sharing disappointment and outrage.
“This all really started, I think, about two years ago when we got 100 degree weather days. I was like, ‘Dan, our refrigeration can’t keep up because the AC isn’t adequate,’ and he said there was too much refrigeration. But we’ve been doing this for 10 and a half years,” Collins says. “We purchased air conditioning at our expense.”
The bakery’s lease for the space lapsed in February 2019, and Boots has been on a month-to-month lease ever since.
Collins also clarifies that the eviction has nothing to do with Boots lacking any form of business licensing — she points out that its liquor license requires a savory food menu — or a non-compete clause from other nearby establishments.
“We don’t have any competition, we’re the only people who do this” in the area, she says. “He says we’ve outgrown the space, and it seems to me that should be our decision. He is well within his rights, and he can choose to renew or not.”
Collins says Spalding lives on one of the building’s floors above and has always been a frequent visitor to Boots, treating it like his extended “living room.”
“He said ‘We need to have a talk about the future of Boots,’” Collins recalls, “and this is his solution — he doesn’t want us to make savory or wholesale, because he said it’s too much for this space. He wants us to rent a commercial kitchen to make that food and truck it in at our expense. He says it’s too stinky and requires too much refrigeration.”
“I’ve asked other tenants and no one has said that,” she continues. “How come it smells just now? We’ve been making the same foods. It’s hard to understand. He’s saying it’s business, and that this makes sense because it’s too much for the space, but like I’ve said, 10 and a half years in, you say this?”
Because Boots has to vacate by Dec. 31, Collins says she’s unsure what its final days there will be like, as all of its equipment needs to be out by then, too.
“It just feels really ugly. I’ve known since mid-October but didn’t want to say anything,” she says. “I didn’t want him to kick us out on the dime, because he could have.”
The good news for the bakery’s many fans is that Boots is moving across the street to the Saranac Commons, taking over a front space that’s currently occupied by Stella’s Cafe. Stella’s owner, Tony Brown, is shutting down the sandwich counter to focus on his main restaurants, Ruins and Hunt, about a block south on Riverside.
“It’s not a huge kitchen, but it’ll be a Boots outpost so we can have some stuff and waffles, and still be a part of the neighborhood,” Collins says.
Her hope is that Boots reopens there in about a month. Collins is also finalizing plans to lease a commercial kitchen space in the downtown area. The biggest challenge has been finding a space where ingredient cross-contamination isn’t an issue since the bakery specializes in gluten-free and vegan food.
"We have also been looking at properties for long-term," she says. "Just to start we'll do the 'outpost' and do the commercial kitchen because we need that for production, and for us not to do savory would be catastrophic — we do a lot of savory food — so we are looking for a flagship spot for sure."
Keeping Boots on West Main was important to Collins, who says that the “neighborhood is very angry about this. Everyone is up in arms — they have been for months. Honestly, everyone on this block comes here for meetings and to hang out.”
Collins says she’s heard nothing from Spalding as to his plans for the space after Boots leaves. She says even if he’d just increased their rent (which was also part of the lease negotiation), she’d have opted to stay in the space. But telling the bakery it can’t serve savory food or bake for wholesale customers was non-negotiable for Boots.
“We’re not going away,” Collins says. “I’m so happy it worked out for across the street. We want to be a part of this neighborhood, it’s been our home for a long time and everyone here is family. Honestly, the thing bumming me out the most, this is really a safe spot for so many people. A place to hang out where — there isn’t any others like it.”
Owner Alison Collins posted online an eviction notice from the bakery’s landlord requiring that the bakery vacate the premises by Dec. 31 unless it stops on-site production of its savory menu items and baked goods for its wholesale accounts. The notice says that Boots can stay if the bakery limits on-site production to only “pastries, sweets and your signature pumpkin waffles.”
The letter, dated Oct. 14, gave Boots more than 60 days to terminate its tenancy or agree to the new terms. Boots’ home at 24 W. Main Ave. is the first floor corner of a 113-year-old, four story building called the Longbotham, owned by local property developer Dan Spalding. (Spalding could not be immediately reached for comment; we will update this post if we hear from him.)
Collins says she was completely blindsided by the notice, and by Spalding’s lack of a clear explanation for why he wants Boots — which has operated there for over 10 years — out. Since she shared the eviction letter, hundreds of community members have commented on that original post, sharing disappointment and outrage.
“This all really started, I think, about two years ago when we got 100 degree weather days. I was like, ‘Dan, our refrigeration can’t keep up because the AC isn’t adequate,’ and he said there was too much refrigeration. But we’ve been doing this for 10 and a half years,” Collins says. “We purchased air conditioning at our expense.”
The bakery’s lease for the space lapsed in February 2019, and Boots has been on a month-to-month lease ever since.
Collins also clarifies that the eviction has nothing to do with Boots lacking any form of business licensing — she points out that its liquor license requires a savory food menu — or a non-compete clause from other nearby establishments.
“We don’t have any competition, we’re the only people who do this” in the area, she says. “He says we’ve outgrown the space, and it seems to me that should be our decision. He is well within his rights, and he can choose to renew or not.”
Collins says Spalding lives on one of the building’s floors above and has always been a frequent visitor to Boots, treating it like his extended “living room.”
“He said ‘We need to have a talk about the future of Boots,’” Collins recalls, “and this is his solution — he doesn’t want us to make savory or wholesale, because he said it’s too much for this space. He wants us to rent a commercial kitchen to make that food and truck it in at our expense. He says it’s too stinky and requires too much refrigeration.”
“I’ve asked other tenants and no one has said that,” she continues. “How come it smells just now? We’ve been making the same foods. It’s hard to understand. He’s saying it’s business, and that this makes sense because it’s too much for the space, but like I’ve said, 10 and a half years in, you say this?”
Because Boots has to vacate by Dec. 31, Collins says she’s unsure what its final days there will be like, as all of its equipment needs to be out by then, too.
“It just feels really ugly. I’ve known since mid-October but didn’t want to say anything,” she says. “I didn’t want him to kick us out on the dime, because he could have.”
The good news for the bakery’s many fans is that Boots is moving across the street to the Saranac Commons, taking over a front space that’s currently occupied by Stella’s Cafe. Stella’s owner, Tony Brown, is shutting down the sandwich counter to focus on his main restaurants, Ruins and Hunt, about a block south on Riverside.
“It’s not a huge kitchen, but it’ll be a Boots outpost so we can have some stuff and waffles, and still be a part of the neighborhood,” Collins says.
Her hope is that Boots reopens there in about a month. Collins is also finalizing plans to lease a commercial kitchen space in the downtown area. The biggest challenge has been finding a space where ingredient cross-contamination isn’t an issue since the bakery specializes in gluten-free and vegan food.
"We have also been looking at properties for long-term," she says. "Just to start we'll do the 'outpost' and do the commercial kitchen because we need that for production, and for us not to do savory would be catastrophic — we do a lot of savory food — so we are looking for a flagship spot for sure."
Keeping Boots on West Main was important to Collins, who says that the “neighborhood is very angry about this. Everyone is up in arms — they have been for months. Honestly, everyone on this block comes here for meetings and to hang out.”
Collins says she’s heard nothing from Spalding as to his plans for the space after Boots leaves. She says even if he’d just increased their rent (which was also part of the lease negotiation), she’d have opted to stay in the space. But telling the bakery it can’t serve savory food or bake for wholesale customers was non-negotiable for Boots.
“We’re not going away,” Collins says. “I’m so happy it worked out for across the street. We want to be a part of this neighborhood, it’s been our home for a long time and everyone here is family. Honestly, the thing bumming me out the most, this is really a safe spot for so many people. A place to hang out where — there isn’t any others like it.”
