Owners of ‘one-of-a-kind’ restaurant downtown to open another — along Boise Greenbelt

The Lively has earned rave reviews since opening in downtown Boise in 2021.

Located at 505 W. Bannock St., the restaurant is driven by Executive Chef Edward Higgins’ “global training from Japan to France to Massachusetts,” its website explains, and a passion for local, seasonal ingredients.

The result? “A one-of-kind dining experience,” The Lively promises.

Now a similarly elevated restaurant is headed to East Boise.

The Lively’s owners, Greg and Kari Strimple, plan to build and open House of the Little Pig. It will be on a corner lot at 3083 E. Barber Valley Drive, accessible from the Boise Greenbelt.

House of the Little Pig won’t be fine dining. Not in the stuffy, traditional sense. “We don’t even consider what we do at The Lively fine dining,” Higgins said in a phone interview.

But like The Lively, this concept will aim high.

“We’re continuing the same execution of service, and preparation of dishes and ingredients,” Higgins said. “The quality and selection and preparation is going to be, across-the-board, something that sets us apart from everyone.”

The operation will be “true farm-to-table, as much as possible,” Higgins said.

Kevin Posada, sous chef at The Lively, will be chef de cuisine.

The focus will be “regional American cuisine,” Higgins said, “but through a lens” that allows Posada to share his culinary experiences and vision. Posada was born in El Salvador, grew up in Los Angeles and came to The Lively with Higgins from Hawaii.

Featuring an outdoor patio, House of the Little Pig will be approachable. If Boiseans are biking past on the Greenbelt, Higgins hopes they might be lured into an unplanned stop. Seized by an urge such as, “I really need that mezze plate. I really want to eat that lamb chop,” Higgins said. “That’s what we’re shooting for.”

The menu will include larger-format presentations optimal for sharing, he said. “We really want people to come in and break bread together.”

The centerpiece of the restaurant will be a Josper charcoal grill from the Basque region of Spain, Higgins said. That will power House of the Little Pig’s cooking philosophy: “Well-sourced, farm- and field-fresh ingredients rotated over open fire,” he said.

The Strimples hope to launch the roughly 3,000-square-foot restaurant by late summer 2024, Higgins said.

House of the Little Pig isn’t the only restaurant planned at the Barber Station development. Locally owned Sid’s Garage, known for hedonistic burgers and shakes — and beer — plans to expand there next year, too.

Higgins sees that as a positive.

“We need a community of restaurants over there,” he said.