New downtown cafe to open with ‘stunning’ food from James Beard-nominated Boise baker
Learning the restaurant business on the fly, four sisters had a dream when they opened an Afghan cafe in Boise.
Four years later, they have a success story — and a mission.
Sunshine Spice Bakery and Cafe, 6911 W. Fairview Ave., is transforming into a full-blown Idaho brand. It will open a second location at 220 N. 10th St., says Homeyra Shams, who owns and operates the business with her sisters Bahar, Narges and Khatera. The downtown destination could debut by late spring or early summer — depending on renovations to the space, which is the old office of the architect who works with them.
The sisters plan to keep expanding. Brimming with confidence, they hope to open a new Sunshine Spice Cafe every two years, Homeyra Shams says. “Meridian, Eagle. Maybe, like, McCall. Sun Valley. Because we do have customers that drive (from) that far away to come to our cafe, and they always ask us, ‘When are you going to open a location’ at their place.”
Saffron inspiration
The original Sunshine Spice Cafe opened in December 2019 with a menu of baklava and breads, cookies and tarts, teas and coffees. “Sunshine spice” is a nickname for saffron, an exquisite ingredient in Afghan, Iranian and other cuisines. All four sisters were born in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Working as a team, they have earned a die-hard clientele. Sunshine Spice Cafe boasts a nearly perfect rating from its 220 Google reviews: 4.9 out of 5.0. A typical compliment? “I’ve been several times and each time has been absolutely delicious,” a recent commenter gushed. “The baked goods are stunning and taste great, and so do the drinks. I wish it was bigger, only because it can be hard to get a table on busy days.”
Sunshine Spice Cafe received an unexpected dose of praise and publicity in early 2022 when Khatera Shams was nominated for a James Beard Award in the Outstanding Baker category. “It was a big surprise,” Homeyra Shams admits, describing it as a “big deal” for the sisters and restaurant.
In February, Food Network star Guy Fieri stopped by Sunshine Spice Cafe while filming an episode of “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives,” which he revealed on Instagram. Because restaurants aren’t supposed to share any details in advance, Shams politely declined to comment about the show.
What she will talk about is the future — and goals for Sunshine Spice Cafe.
Small cafe
The new location will be a cafe but — unlike on Fairview — not a bakery. It’s a modest-sized spot — with room for maybe a dozen diners, she says, and additional seating outside. “It will be, like, a small front section of a cafe,” Shams says. “It doesn’t have a kitchen.”
She plans to work at the new cafe while her sisters keep baking and serving customers on Fairview Avenue. Food will be transported downtown, although Homeyra will handle final decorative touches such as applying a dusting of powdered sugar or raspberries to tarts. And although the menus will be similar, hot foods will be available downtown only for a few hours each day — probably 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., she says.
And once that new cafe has hit its stride? It will be time to focus on expansion ambitions again.
“As soon as that is successful, we will open more,” Homeyra says. “So almost, like, every city in Idaho — and maybe in (the) future ... other states.”