Garden City Finally Has a Brunch Spot Worth a Boise Greenbelt Ride

Foodies who live, work and play in Garden City were crushed last July when the owners of a trendy Puerto Rican restaurant with a great rooftop patio announced they were closing for good. By the time warmer weather arrives, that patio will be filled again! 

When Lemon Tree founder Jasson Parra announced the permanent closure of the sandwich shop’s Harris Ranch location, he teased that his restaurant group was working on something “exciting” but “scary.” That something was a new concept called Max & Louie’s Cafe and it recently opened in the building at 175 E. 35th Street that WEPA vacated mid-summer. 

Max & Louie’s Café Fills Culinary Hole in Garden City

Named in honor of the Parra family dogs, the new restaurant serves scratch-made meals for brunch and lunch, filling a major culinary hole in Garden City. While the food scene in Garden City continues to add cool new places to eat like Ling & Louie’s, Belmont Brewhouse and a new Bardenay, we can’t think of a restaurant there that serves a decent, hearty breakfast. With the city’s proximity to the Boise Greenbelt, it’s such a missed opportunity. 

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Back when we trained for half-marathons and marathons, we were part of running clubs that planned Saturday long runs around where we could gather for breakfast afterward. Start at Reid Merrill Park in Eagle? The Griddle. Southeast Boise? The Griddle on Parkcenter or Eggman and Earl, which is a hop, skip and a jump away from the Greenbelt. But Garden City? There wasn’t anything comparable until now. 

Concept Was a Long Time Coming

According to the new restaurant’s social media accounts, Parra considered opening Max & Louie’s Fill Station in 2020, but tabled the concept. A potential location in downtown Boise presented itself a year later, but it wasn’t meant to be either. Flash forward another four years and he was able to connect with the former owner of WEPA to open in the 35th & Clay lofts toward the end of 2025.

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Their launch menu includes 11 breakfast entrees, which includes some cross-over items from The Grove by Lemon Tree like a short rib skillet and huevos rancheros. It also includes a number of unique to Max & Louie’s dishes like BC’s Brioche French Toast which is cooked in a orange vanilla batter and Lou-Lou’s Lemon Ricotta Pancakes topped with caramelized blueberry compote. 

They also have a few burgers, sandwiches and tacos on the lunch menu, a few soups and a few salads.

While the online menu doesn’t show pictures of them, one of the things we’ll be curious to try in person are their pop top canned lattes and matchas. Several local influencers have shared videos of them on social media.