Owner of this ‘hidden gem’ restaurant to open another in Boise — two doors down
Serving customers, Marcus Allen has piled up hundreds of positive reviews since he opened MB Sandwich House in an unassuming Boise strip mall.
“We’re going on five years in April,” he says proudly.
So this summer, he’s planning to add another concept to his plate: Betty’s Cafe.
Located two doors down in Country Club Plaza at 4504 W. Overland Road, the new breakfast-and-lunch restaurant will include a full French press coffee bar and a pastry bakery, he says.
Allen plans to keep manning the counter at MB, but Betty’s Cafe will be fully staffed, he says. It will be open from 5 or 6 a.m., Allen envisions, until 2 or 3 p.m. — six days a week.
At 2,500 square feet, Betty’s Cafe will be larger than MB Sandwich House. “We’re gonna have about 20 tables, inside and outside seating,” he says.
The morning menu will run the gamut from omelettes and pancakes to sizzling breakfast plates, he says. “Like a sizzling steak and potatoes plate. ... It’s gonna be pretty good.”
For the pastry bar, Allen promises “really big cinnamon rolls, maybe like a brie cheese cake.”
The lunch menu plans include everything from alfredo pasta to more sizzle — in the form of fajitas, he says.
Allen is riding a wave of small-business success with his under-the-radar MB Sandwich House. The shop rates 4.2 out of 5 on Yelp and 4.6 out of 5 on Google. Reviewers often seem caught off-guard by both the food and location.
“A hidden gem,” a recent 5-star review noted.
“I drive past this place every day for work,” added another. “Never knew it was where it was.”
In a space that most recently held Respawn Games (relocated to 4654 S. Cole Road), Betty’s Cafe is named after the restaurant’s co-owner, aka “my lady,” Allen says: “Her name is Veronica, but she goes by Betty.”
Remodeling already has started. Walls and a glass partition have been installed, and Allen is working on the kitchen, he says.
Stomach growling yet?
Betty’s Cafe will open soon, Allen vows. “No later than September,” he says, “for sure.”