FOOD FIRST.
Our Journey
IT STARTED WITH ONE BOWL.
Fast, healthy & gluten-free. Three words that are not often in the same sentence together, yet that’s exactly what the Kindler’s restaurant is built around. Kindler’s co-owner, Conrad, was diagnosed with Celiac disease 5 years ago and struggled to find gluten-free options that were not only tasty, but filling.
This led to the inception of Kindler’s, a fast-casual restaurant that serves gluten-free, celiac-safe and seed-oil free food with a globally inspired menu that will leave you craving more.
“Looking at the restaurant situation for Celiacs, it’s really difficult to eat legitimately gluten-free,” Conrad says when asked about his diagnosis. “So I decided to start my own model of fast-food restaurant that is also healthy… just to make gluten-free food a little more accessible.”
Conrad’s 11 year old daughter was also diagnosed with Celiac disease recently and he says the idea behind Kindler’s is something he’s really passionate about, because he knows it will help out so many people.
“It came from a personal need… It’s one of those things where I deal with it on a daily basis… It’s really difficult,” Conrad says. “Having gluten-free food was a top priority. Eating healthy is extremely important for auto-immune conditions.”
Heather Nucifora, the head chef who is responsible for the menu creation and recipe development, says that they spent a lot of time in the early phases of the restaurant’s creation asking themselves about what they wanted to prioritize versus what people really wanted or needed.
“We decided early on that having food that was gluten-free and seed-oil free was our priority,” Heather said.
This led to elevating the rest of the ingredients for the menu. Sourcing premium ingredients was important in our commitment to clean eating. Every ingredient sourced is confirmed gluten-free and has gone through rigorous testing to confirm there’s no trace amounts, so there’s no worries about cross contamination in the kitchen.
Heather, who received her Bachelor of Science in Nutrition from UCONN and is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, spoke about the accessibility of food for those with dietary restrictions.
“People take for granted the availability of food. Finding food is even harder for those with dietary restrictions,” she says. “We hope to raise awareness about the wide-spread distribution of food and how things are sourced. At Kindler’s there is a higher level of care and attention to the food than other places.”
When developing the menu and recipes, Heather says she was given a lot of freedom and was able to explore different options, which led to some really unique menu items.
“Sometimes you just have to throw something at the wall and see if it sticks,” she said. “I had very few parameters and restrictions when creating the menu and that was a lot of fun.”
With everything being made from scratch in-house, Heather said a lot of the ingredients sourced serve multiple purposes, so the cross-utilization of food was a focal point when developing recipes. Using her background in flavor profiles and food science, she was able to pull inspiration from around the world when creating dishes.
“There is so much enjoyment about seeing what people eat around the world,” she says. “Why not bring some of those flavors and concepts to Spokane?”
While most competitors are niche-focused, Kindler’s is inclusive not only of dietary restrictions but of flavor as well.
CERTIFICATIONS &COMMITMENTS
GFCO Certified
Independently audited gluten-free
Locally Sourced
Spokane-area farm partners
Best Fast-Casual '25
Inland NW Reader's Choice
Community First
1% of sales to local food banks
MEET THE TEAM.
The people who show up before sunrise to prep, source, and build every bowl by hand.
Teddy Kindler
Head Honcho
Teddy Kindler
Head Honcho
Teddy Kindler
Head Honcho
Teddy Kindler
Head Honcho
Mission & Vision
WHY WE DO IT.
Hear it straight from the founding crew — the mess, the miracle, and the mission behind every gluten-free bowl. This is the “why” that gets us to the kitchen before the sun.