Forced to close, iconic Boise restaurant to move ‘best breakfast in town’ to new spot

Michael Deeds
·2 min read

When the historic Union Block building in downtown Boise was condemned for structural concerns in early November, two longtime restaurants were casualties: Mai Thai and Moon’s Kitchen Cafe.

One will be reborn soon.

Downtown icon Moon’s Kitchen has exited 712 W. Idaho St., where it served breakfast and lunch for 15 years. The diner is on track to reopen Jan. 1 at 800 W. Main St., suite 230. That’s a second-floor restaurant space in the Zions Bank building. It previously held the short-lived SEA Crab House, which closed in September — initially temporarily, then permanently.

Debuting New Year’s Day isn’t set in stone, Moon’s owner Gary Torrey said. “But I think it’s gonna happen,” he added.

Boise’s Planning and Development Services department condemned the historic Union Block building that Moon’s Kitchen and other businesses occupy because of structural safety concerns following an inspection on Nov. 9.
Boise’s Planning and Development Services department condemned the historic Union Block building that Moon’s Kitchen and other businesses occupy because of structural safety concerns following an inspection on Nov. 9.

Started in 1955 as a sandwich operation in the back of a gun-and-tackle shop downtown, Moon’s opened on Bannock Street in 1961 before moving to the Union Block building in 2008. Torrey bought Moon’s in 2012. When city officials deemed the building unsafe recently, he started hunting for a place to move. The Zions Bank building owners wound up finding him, he said.

“The building called me and said, ‘Hey, we have a spot for you.’ So I think it was just meant to be.”

Torrey didn’t lose any Moon’s employees during the shutdown, he said, so the new incarnation will be ready to rock. ”I have my whole kitchen crew, so we’re gonna be fast. And good.”

In the Union Block building, Moon’s had seating for about 55 customers. The Zions space will handle roughly 80, Torrey said. There’s also a side room, but he doesn’t plan to use it initially. “I don’t want to overwhelm us to begin with,” he explained.

Moon’s customers will be able to order menu favorites ranging from fresh-squeezed orange juice and espresso to omelettes, chicken-fried steak and Louisiana-style beignets. And, of course, regulars will gravitate to Moon’s most popular delicacy: eggs Benedict, topped with hollandaise made using a Torrey kitchen-tool invention — the Hollandaise Hero.

Eggs Benedict slathered in hollandaise is the most popular item at Moon’s Kitchen Cafe. Pictured: the vegetarian-style California Beni, plus housemade beignets, top left.
Eggs Benedict slathered in hollandaise is the most popular item at Moon’s Kitchen Cafe. Pictured: the vegetarian-style California Beni, plus housemade beignets, top left.

“About 25 percent of my business is eggs Benedict,” Torrey said. “That’s how good that sauce is.”

Moon’s hours will be 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. — seven days a week. Previously, it was closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays inside the Union Block building.

And if anyone is concerned that SEA Crab House failed in the second-floor space after three months? Don’t worry, Torrey said. For the past year and a half, he said, Moon’s did solid business even though construction in front of the Union Block building made it so “you couldn’t even see the street from our restaurant. It’s boarded up.”

“We’re gonna be smokin’ busy,” Torrey predicted. “We have the best breakfast in town. You can print that if you want.”