Capitol Bar & Grill opened on Friday, Aug. 7, in Spokane Valley, and has been packed with patrons every day since, says restaurateur Raci Erdem.

Capitol Bar & Grill, a trade name for Baser LLC, is located at 18219 E. Appleway and is Erdem's fourth government-themed restaurant in the Inland Northwest, expanding a portfolio he began 30 years ago in Post Falls.

“I’m fortunate to have a strong following,” he says.

Flanked between Lady Luck Tattoo and Green City Saloon in the former Boomers Classic Rock Bar & Grill space, Capitol Bar has been transformed into an 85-seat dining room featuring a long bar and sports playing on several television sets. A back patio seats an additional 20 guests.

Post Falls-based Ben of All Trades LLC completed the $400,000 interior renovation along with help from one of Erdem's employees, Darren Cook. 

The venue is focused on serving late-night diners, he says, adding that Capitol Bar & Grill's operating hours are Sunday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to midnight. 

The menu offers American comfort food and bar-and-grill staples, such as burgers, wings, fish and chips, grilled cheese, and steak, as well as dishes with Mediterranean, Mexican, and Asian influences. 

Many dishes allude to political and government references, including the American Smash, Big Beautiful Burger, and The Don’s Sandwich. The political motif carries over to the cocktail menu where drinks bear tongue-in-cheek names, such as the Obama Mama, the Paloma Party, and the Corrupt Coconut.

“It’s very much comfort food,” Erdem asserts. “You can go eat every day without breaking the bank.”

Erdem opened the first of his government-themed restaurants in Post Falls in 1996. The White House Grill opened as a seven-table establishment that quickly tripled in size, he says. In 2007, he opened the Oval Office, also in Post Falls, followed by The Pentagon, in Liberty Lake in 2019.

In Spokane, Erdem briefly operated The West Wing on the South Hill before closing it in 2014.

"I wasn't ready for the third restaurant, but it was a good experience; an expensive experience," Erdem says of The West Wing. 

Erdem has hired 35 part-time staff to operate Capitol Bar & Grill. Additional employees are expected to be hired soon, he says. Currently, Erdem employs 200 staff across his four restaurants.

While he maintains full ownership of The White House Grill, the Oval Office, and The Pentagon restaurants, Erdem says he intentionally set out to build Capitol Bar & Grill with his nephew, Emre Basar, as a co-owner. Basar has been a longtime employee of Erdem's.

“I wanted to be a partner with my nephew,” he says. “Like everything else, when I stepped into here, I knew this was it; it’s going to be fun.”