A Boise, Idaho food business rooted in family heritage is expanding from a food truck to a permanent downtown storefront, as siblings Angeline and John Riley prepare to bring their Norwegian flatbread concept — Loving Lefse — to a brick-and-mortar location in the heart of the city this summer. The small business story reflects a growing entrepreneurial spirit in the Treasure Valley, where locally owned food concepts are finding loyal audiences and real staying power.
A Family Tradition Becomes a Business Plan
For Angeline and John Riley, lefse was never just food — it was a family ritual. Every year before Thanksgiving, the siblings gathered with relatives to make the traditional Norwegian potato flatbread from scratch, a process that inspired as many conversations as it did memories.
“We’d always sit around the table and talk about why no one makes lefse really and why there are no businesses that really do that,” Angeline said.
About two years ago, the Riley siblings decided to answer that question themselves. They launched Loving Lefse, a Boise-based food business centered around the thin, soft Norwegian flatbread traditionally served with butter, sugar, or cinnamon. The concept moved quickly from a family idea to a formal business plan — and then to a food trailer hitting the streets of Boise.
“I had to come up with a business plan … and it sparked the idea of Loving Lefse,” Angeline said. “We all just kind of were like, ‘Hey, this would be pretty cool.'”
Even the name was a collaborative decision. “I just thought it was catchy,” John said. “Angeline really wanted Loving Lefse. That was her first argument.”
Early Success at Green Acres and the Challenge of Scaling Up
Since launching in 2024, Loving Lefse has built a dedicated following across Boise. The siblings took their food trailer to Green Acres Food Truck Park, where they quickly found themselves facing a welcome problem: selling out.
“We take the food trailer to Green Acres and stuff like that, and we have had a great issue of selling out a lot of the time,” Angeline said.
But growth came with a logistical challenge unique to their product. Lefse is not a dish that can be made in minutes. The process — from preparing the potato dough to rolling and cooking each thin flatbread — can take up to two full days from start to finish. With their food trailer doubling as their only kitchen, meeting surging demand was a constant struggle.
“Our food trailer is our kitchen, so it’s not like we can close down and make more,” Angeline said. “Lefse is like a two-day process.”
That production bottleneck made the case for a permanent location impossible to ignore.
Impact on Ada County’s Small Business Community
The Riley siblings’ growth story is the kind of entrepreneurial success that strengthens the Ada County economy one small business at a time. Rather than relying on outside investors or corporate infrastructure, Loving Lefse has grown organically — through word of mouth, community presence, and a product that carries genuine cultural meaning.
Loving Lefse plans to open a storefront in downtown Boise’s historic district this summer. The new location will give the siblings a dedicated production kitchen, allowing them to meet demand without shutting down service. At the same time, their food truck will remain active with a permanent spot at Green Acres Food Truck Park — meaning customers at both locations will continue to have access to the product.
“It’s always been our dream to have a storefront downtown, and having this early on is really a dream come true,” Angeline said.
The Rileys also credited Green Acres for giving them an early foothold in the market. “We haven’t been in business that long, and Green Acres really did take a chance on us,” Angeline said — a reminder of how local food parks and community spaces can serve as launching pads for small businesses in the Treasure Valley.
What Comes Next for Loving Lefse
For the Riley family, the expansion is about more than growing a business. It is about preserving and sharing a piece of Norwegian heritage with the broader Boise community — and perhaps bringing a moment of recognition to those who grew up with the same traditions.
“It’ll be really special for the Norwegian community out here as well,” John said. “People walking by, seeing us roll out lefse — like they did their whole lives, and their parents before them.”
Loving Lefse’s downtown Boise storefront is expected to open this summer. Residents interested in following the business’s progress or finding the food trailer at Green Acres can look for updates from the company directly. For Ada County food lovers looking to explore locally owned alternatives to chain restaurants, Loving Lefse represents exactly the kind of homegrown enterprise that makes Boise’s food scene worth watching.