🥐 Spokane's Great Pastry Divide: The $7 Croissant vs. The $2 Cinnamon Roll

Spokane, WA - For decades, a Spokane breakfast pastry meant one thing: a massive, gooey, cinnamon-drenched roll the size of your face, usually found in a local diner or a Valley-area drive-thru. It was sweet, cheap, and undeniably American comfort.

But Spokane is changing. The influx of new residents and a heightened focus on downtown revitalization have ushered in the era of the Artisanal French Patisserie. Now, Spokane is home to multiple bakeries selling perfect, laminated, $7 croissants, delicate maca-rons, and precise pain au chocolat.

This shift has resulted in a culinary culture clash: Is the new, expensive French pastry scene an act of culinary excellence, or is it an act of culinary gentrification pricing out the community?

The Defense of the Gooey Roll

For the old guard, the perfect pastry is defined by volume and value. The Cinnamon Roll is a symbol of generosity and affordable indulgence. It’s meant to be shared, eaten with a knife and fork, and leave you with a sugar rush that lasts until lunch.

"I don't need a pastry that looks like a piece of art; I need one that tastes like a Saturday morning," says longtime Spokane Valley baker, Susan Clark. "These French places charge $7 for a tiny crescent of dough. Our cinnamon roll costs $3.50, is four times the size, and is made with butter and love, not pretension."

Critics of the French movement argue that the high prices and inaccessible downtown locations make these bakeries feel elitist, catering only to the tech and finance crowd moving into the revitalized core.

The Technique Tax

The price difference isn't arbitrary. French pastries require vastly more labor, temperature control, and high-quality, often imported, European butter for lamination. The $7 price tag is defending the high cost of ingredients and the specialized skill (and resulting high rent) required for a true patisserie.

Image Placeholder: A close-up, dramatic side-by-side shot of a perfectly laminated, golden-brown croissant on a marble counter next to a giant, heavily frosted cinnamon roll on a paper plate.

The Case for Culinary Elevation

The owners of the new patisseries argue they are bringing genuine, world-class culinary standards to the Inland Northwest, something Spokane was sorely lacking. They are fighting the perception that quality and technique should be sacrificed for sheer size.

"We are offering a higher level of product," says Julian Dubois, a baker who trained in Paris before opening his Spokane shop. "Our product is about flavor concentration, texture, and the quality of the ingredients. When a customer pays for our croissant, they are paying for three days of precise lamination, 100% European butter, and a technique that is difficult to master. It’s not just a sugar bomb; it’s a craft."

The Battle Lines: Downtown vs. The Valley

The geographical split reflects the cultural division:

• Downtown/Browne's Addition: The French patisseries thrive, attracting the gentrified apartment and Kendall Yards crowd.
• Spokane Valley: The Classic American Comfort Bakeries remain dominant, serving families and the traditional Spokane working class.

The I-90 traveler must decide: Do you value the buttery, airy precision of French technique, or the overwhelming, sugary nostalgia of a classic American roll? Your choice defines your Spokane morning.

🥐 Which reigns supreme in Spokane: The laminated, high-art French pastry, or the huge, comforting Cinnamon Roll?