After ‘heartbreaking’ Boise exit, California restaurant chain is back — as a ‘prototype’
When Marie Callender’s Restaurant & Bakery shuttered on Fairview Avenue in 2018, a shift manager of nearly three decades called the closure “heartbreaking.”
But now that the longtime pie brand is returning to Idaho?
Call it a “prototype.”
Smaller than traditional locations, the new Marie Callender’s (no “Restaurant & Bakery” in the name) will serve proven favorites to customers in Meridian — and quickly, said franchise co-owner Kristin Baker. “This restaurant is a new prototype for the Marie Callender’s brand,” she said. “We will be a fast-casual style with a limited menu.”
“We like to use the slogan, ‘A fresh take on a classic restaurant.’ We’re just downsizing, basically.”
Aiming to dish up food starting in early July at 2325 E. Fairview Ave., the store will be at The Shops at Pine 43 — in a building that also houses Hotworx and Active Chiropractic.
Like the larger restaurant that closed in Boise, this will be the only Marie Callender’s in Idaho.
Baker, who moved to Eagle from California a couple of years ago, said she saw potential for the return of the Golden State-based brand. Her father owns two franchise Marie Callender’s restaurants in California, she said.
“The locations that my dad has in California do so well in pie sales,” she said. “I was like, ‘We need to do something here, because there’s nothing like that for pies.’ ”
At 2,500 square feet, the new Marie Callender’s will be dwarfed by the brand’s traditional, older bakeries/restaurants. But it still will sell fresh pies, desserts and “Marie classics,” Baker said. “We will start off with all our pies and bakery items, and within the few months of being open we will move on to a couple sandwiches, salads, burgers and soups.”
“We just wanted to be fast-casual,” she reiterated. “Come in, order, grab a seat. Have a quick lunch, or stay and enjoy.”
Takeout will be available. But if customers want to relax and eat, they’ll also have the option of enjoying an outdoor patio during warmer months. The Meridian store won’t have a liquor license like the Boise location did, but it will sell beer and wine.
A household name for many decades, the Marie Callender’s chain has shrunk since its heyday. Today, 25 locations remain: 22 in California, two in Nevada and one in Utah, according to the Marie Callender’s website.
