A landmark building on Warm Springs Avenue in Boise is being brought back to life. The Trolley House — a structure tied to the city’s early transit era and later a restaurant beloved by generations of neighborhood families — is midway through a major renovation under new owners Mandi Carvalho and her husband, Matt Mahaffey. The couple expects to welcome the public back through its doors sometime in late summer or early fall 2026.
From Trolley Terminal to Neighborhood Institution
The building’s roots go back to the 1920s, when it served as the terminus of Boise’s streetcar line. When the transit company folded, the structure transitioned to commercial restaurant use, operating under the name Avenue Inn during that same decade. It would later reopen in 1976 under the Trolley House name — an identity it carried for 46 years, right up until 2022. Across the street, Adams Elementary School has stood as a neighbor throughout much of that history, meaning the building has been part of the backdrop for countless Boise childhoods.
That multigenerational presence in the neighborhood weighs on Carvalho as she approaches the project. “You can tell that the building is very rooted in the community, so there’s a lot of responsibility to keep up that legacy,” she said.
Structural Groundwork Before Any Cosmetic Changes
The renovation is currently two months into a six-month window the family set for the overall project. At this stage, the focus has been on thorough structural inspections rather than visible upgrades — foundational work that will determine what the building can sustain going forward. Carvalho and Mahaffey have set an ambitious but concrete goal: get the Trolley House into condition that could carry it through another full century of use.
That long-range thinking extends to the design choices Carvalho intends to make once inspections clear the way for interior work. She has been clear about rejecting whatever happens to be fashionable at the moment. “I don’t want to be trendy, I want it to feel timeless,” she said. The goal, in other words, is a space that fits the Warm Springs corridor’s historic character rather than one that looks out of place within a few years.
What the Trolley House Means to the Warm Springs Corridor
Warm Springs Avenue is one of Boise’s older residential and commercial corridors, recognized for its distinct architectural character and tight-knit neighborhood feel. The Trolley House sits along that stretch as a natural gathering point, and its closure since 2022 created a noticeable absence for residents who had grown up with it as part of the fabric of the area. The proximity to Adams Elementary adds another dimension: parents, teachers, and students who walk or drive past the site daily have an immediate stake in its future.
Across Ada County and the broader Treasure Valley, older buildings with genuine community history face mounting pressure as land values rise and redevelopment becomes more attractive than restoration. The Trolley House project stands as a private-sector example of owners choosing preservation over replacement — a decision that reflects both a commitment to Boise’s character and confidence that the community will support a restored version of what they already knew and valued.
The methodical pace Carvalho and Mahaffey have set — six months from start to opening, with structural inspection as the priority before any decorative decisions — reflects a practical approach. Renovation projects that skip that kind of due diligence often surface costly problems later. Doing it in sequence, even if it slows the visible transformation, tends to produce a more durable result.
What Comes Next for the Trolley House
With roughly four months remaining in the planned renovation timeline, a late summer or early fall 2026 opening remains the target. Boise residents interested in the project’s progress can watch for activity at the Warm Springs Avenue location as interior and exterior work advances over the coming months.
Carvalho and Mahaffey’s stated aim — a building built for the next 100 years, guided by a sense of responsibility to what came before — puts the Trolley House in a different category than many commercial renovation projects. For neighbors near Adams Elementary and longtime patrons of the original restaurant, the reopening will represent not just a new business but a continuation of something the Warm Springs neighborhood has known for a very long time.