Pa' La Gente Café & Bakery: For The People

Pa' La Gente Café and Bakery was founded by Gabi Guillén Valdovinos in August of 2020

Pa’ La Gente Café & Bakery is a nonprofit café and bakery dedicated to creating a community that focuses on collective community care in North Idaho, but more specifically in the city of Coeur d’Alene. We are a fully functioning café and bakery but our space will be much more than that. Our goal is to make every person that steps foot into our space feel like they are stepping into our home, a place of warmth and environment that fosters individual growth for all. Coming from the service industry, our backgrounds have taught us that sometimes folks are overlooked and undervalued due to circumstances that they have no control over and we want a space that uplifts the voices and art of those who are often marginalized- working class folks, the LGBTQ+ community, BIPOC and those who are differently abled. Our nonprofit structure comes from our interest to reinvest all our profits back into our North Idaho community to create the changes we want to see. Everyone that works at our café will be making a livable wage and have full benefits packages, one of our main priorities is to make sure to take care of the workers that make running our business possible. We also commit and strive to make every part of our business ethical by using as many fair trade and locally sourced ingredients and products as possible.

“Pa' La Gente” means “For the People’ in Spanish. We chose this name because our business is run by the very people who started it- we are real people here working for the people! Through our lived experiences in Coeur d’Alene we both see a real need in our community for plant based foods options and education surrounding issues with the environment, class, race, gender & sexuality. Much of North Idaho feels very divided by different political views and social classes and in this day and age genuine social interactions seem to be rare leaving room for misconstrued dialogues on certain issues. Coffee houses tend to naturally foster environments of community but we want to take the opportunity to bring people together and create real change and impact through education, direct action and support.  

Our Traditions

We both come from big families that cherished food and culture, love was shown through fresh ingredients, decadent meals, and passion over anything; we hope to incorporate and continue passing down our family traditions for others to enjoy. Our menu will be largely composed of traditional Mexican, Afro-Indigenous, Jewish, Swedish, and English  foods and drinks that our families have enjoyed for generations. We've played with them and found ways to make them vegan so that everyone can enjoy cruelty free versions of the food that we've loved and cherished our whole lives. Our unique menu items, baked goods, sauces and syrups will all be made in house. The great thing about making everything in house is that there's no additives, preservatives or colors that you have to worry about! We've tried to make it as simple as possible for those with dietary restrictions so that everyone can enjoy our food and atmosphere together.

Our Journey

We both come from customer experience and food service backgrounds. Anyone who's worked in food service knows it's really grueling work. You work hard and you don't get much thanks or pay from those above you. Nevertheless it's wildly rewarding to have your regulars and create a bond with so many people in your community. That's really the part we love is the face to face connections. At our hearts we are both hostesses. We love having people over for dinner and sharing the food that we've poured our love into and this café is our chance to share that with the community.

Why North Idaho?

 North Idaho is a constantly growing community in the last ten years the population has increased in Coeur d’Alene by twenty percent. It’s also a booming coffee community, being close to Seattle and cold for much of the year coffee is something people are extremely passionate about. We will be located at 1325 E. Sherman Ave. in downtown Coeur d'Alene. Just blocks from the beautiful lake and surrounded by neighborhoods.

There is also a real need for ethnic and plant based foods in this small community. Most places here are all very similar, the coffee shops all serve almost identical menus and have the same vibes. We want to bring something new, a blend of our cultures and personalities. 

We strive to better our community by actively working towards providing our staff and customers a safe space to make connections, create relationships and continually educate ourselves and those around us. We are passionate about environmental, social, and racial justice. We want to use our café to uplift the voices and art of those our society often overlooks. We want a space that is not just for some people but all people!

Environmental Justice

We seek to help our environment by educating people in our community. At Pa’ La Gente we want to hold classes in our space and invite local visionaries to speak on various topics that impact our environment. Unfortunately due to local mines being reopened and pollution of motorized boats, our Lake Coeur d’Alene is in danger of becoming a petri dish in the coming years. Every year the wildfires continue to get worse and threaten our wildlife, farms and rural communities. We want to open the eyes of the public to show that the major corporations in the area are affecting their day to day lives. This isn’t an issue to talk about later, this is something to take action on now. Environmental justice also plays a major role in educating people about surrounding indigenous peoples and the way they managed the very  land we are standing on for thousands of years before any of us got here. We want to work with local tribes and ensure we actively work towards respecting and preserving the land we occupy. 

Another way we can ensure both environmental and social justice is through veganism and or limiting the animal products we consume. This is why at Pa’ La Gente there will be no upcharge for plant based milks. We believe that taking care of animals and the environment shouldn’t cost our customers extra. We will also host a large number of vegan friendly options that are not only plant based  but also taste delicious! 

Our carbon footprint as a business can be majorly cut down by buying local as often as possible as well as holding ourselves to a higher standard through recycling, composting and using ceramic cups for sit down customers and compostable ones for those who choose to take coffee to go.

Racial justice and cultural diversity  

In North Idaho there is a severe lack of cultural representation and education. Most foods are barbeque or burgers and pizza. Most of the art is landscapes and much of the taught history revolves around cowboys, the wild west, and Lewis and Clark. There is obviously a narrative and perspective missing here. Education about the Coeur d’Alene tribe and other local tribes in the area is lacking or non-existent. The foods, traditions and histories of other peoples around the world have been effectively erased or told only from the colonial viewpoint. We want to question how we do everything, from the coffee we make,  the stories we tell, to the art we hang on the walls. 

Giving back

After paying our employees a livable wage and covering our costs and expenses, Pa’ La Gente will invest the rest of the money back into the community by putting on volunteer events, programs, community improvement projects, scholarship programs, and helping other local nonprofits and businesses. To help us uphold our mission and work towards real change every quarter of the year we will choose a different non profit to partner with.       ​

How you can help

At the end of the day we need funding. A large part of our café is personally funded by both founders but we can’t do it alone. Anything you can give is so appreciated and if you can’t afford to give, spreading the word is helpful too! All funds will go towards the opening of the café, specially renovations and kitchen equipment. 

Thank you! 

Thank you for taking the time to learn about Pa’ La Gente Café & Bakery, thank you for sharing about us, thank you for being part of our community. We couldn’t do this without you and cannot wait to open our doors to start serving you all and creating the kind of world we want to see together. 

Video sponsored, filmed, and produced by Kyle Vandever.