Is Something New Already Moving Into Boise’s Empty Mala Luna?
When Dharma Sushi decided to move to a location a few blocks away in December 2020, Mala Luna moved into their old location above Space Bar. The Latin kitchen didn’t make it to its first anniversary.
A few weeks ago, we shared a list of Boise area businesses that have called it quits in 2022. Mala Luna found itself on it after announcing their closure via Instagram at the end of January. Less than a week later, we saw a photo of two very excited people standing outside the building starting to make the rounds on social media sharing the news about something called “Kula + Nosh.” Naturally we wondered is this what’s moving into the old Mala Luna next?
After a little digging, we found out that it’s not…at least, not yet. For now, Kula + Nosh is a fascinating pop-up concept where both vegans and their not-so-vegan significant other, friends or family member can enjoy a fantastic meal at the same spot. The pop-up series is the brainchild of Michelle Russell, the founder of Kula Connection and Zachary Greatting, one half of the couple that brought you the Boise Bite food truck.
Both Michelle and Zach have big dreams for their businesses. Michelle is a vegan chef and has dreamed of opening her own lifestyle cafe. It’s something she’s been working on for a long time, but the future space keeps getting delayed. Zach’s a chef and a sommelier from Chicago who relocated to Boise and hoped to start a catering business in the Treasure Valley like the one he founded in the Windy City. Thanks to the pandemic, his plans to properly launch Nosh were delayed as well.
So the two of them linked up to introduce Boise to a series of four fancy themed pop-up dinners called “Kula + Nosh.” It’s finally an opportunity to sit down over dinner with your vegan friends without them feeling like the only thing they can order on the menu is a salad. The dishes at the pop-up are served with vegan sides and you get to pick your protein. If you want the meat or seafood on the menu, Zach will cook it up for you. If you don’t, Michelle will creatively whip up a vegan version. Each dinner can be paired with wine or non-alcoholic options picked by the chefs.
Their first pop-up is on St. Patrick’s Day will include traditional Irish dishes. The other three include barbecue favorites, seafood classics and an Idaho night. The dinners will be served ABOVE the old Mala Luna location in the Capital City Event Center at the Adelmann. You can check out the menus and make a reservation here.
If there’s enough interest in the new concept, you may just see more dinners like this…maybe, just maybe in that old Mala Luna space.
Should that happen, Idaho Street is going to be THE destination for vegans. There's an all-vegan "Plant Pub" in the works just down the street where the old Louie's used to be.
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