THE STORY OF RUSTIC

We — Warren, Deb, Bailey and Ryder Heit — arrived in Coeur d’Alene in 2012. We found ourselves in a small town with an amazing spirit and incredible beauty. Its warm, welcoming community embraced our young family with open arms. We found joy and happiness in Coeur d’Alene – snowboarding the local slopes, wakeboarding on the lake, and walking down Sherman Avenue to enjoy the Christmas lights and fantastic car shows. We wanted to give something back.

So we decided to open a small restaurant in the heart of downtown. We wanted our restaurant to be family-friendly and family-focused, serving affordable, quality fare using simple ingredients and fresh-baked breads. We aimed to create a comfortable, warm, welcoming atmosphere like the community that surrounded it. Our dream was that our restaurant would become a mainstay of downtown Coeur d’Alene for generations to come, where children who were introduced to the restaurant by their parents would return as young adults and then as parents with their own children.

On Sherman Avenue between 3rd and 4th Streets, we found a shuttered shoe store with boarded-up windows, a low-hanging drop ceiling, and a giant purple awning. After scraping away years of dust and layers of construction materials, the building revealed itself to be gorgeous with a rough sawn ceiling and a charming history dating back to the early 1900s. Local lore suggests the building found its origins as a drug store or movie theater. We set to work on transforming the building into a restaurant, pouring our hearts into every detail – from the warm, rustic interior design to the baguette and batard recipes mixing French and sourdough flavors, the New York-inspired bagels and pizzas, and even the location of the televisions so all patrons can watch the big games.

Rustic opened in the summer of 2017. When it opened, our original staff included a hardworking 18-year-old young woman Jayden Vasseur who matured into a partner, restaurant manager, and extended family member. Rustic quickly became a beloved fixture in downtown Coeur d’Alene. The restaurant is a gathering place, where laughter and stories are shared over hearty, freshly-prepared meals and warm and cold drinks. Our dedication to craft and community transformed Rustic into a cornerstone of Coeur d’Alene, proving that with passion, hard work, and some good fortune, we were able to create a legacy that will nourish Coeur d’Alene bodies and souls for years to come