New Bown Crossing eateries scheduled to open doors soon

By Lora VolkertIDAHO BUSINESS REVIEWThe owners of a new pizzeria say they think Bown Crossing is the perfect place from which to launch a chain. And a family that owns five Treasure Valley Mexican restaurants says it's a great place for a sixth.Flatbread Community Oven, which is planned to open June 1, will offer Neapolitan-style pizza cooked on a volcanic stone deck in a 700- to 800-degree oven until the crust is charred. The pizza will be made with Italian flour and San Marzano-style tomatoes, said co-owner Lisa Lumsden, who will manage the restaurant."This is not about cranking out a ton of pizzas," said her husband and Flatbread co-owner Rob Lumsden. "It's about quality."The restaurant will sell stone-fired flatbread with dipping sauces, focaccia sandwiches, lasagna, salads, gelato, wine and beer.Pizza prices range from $8 to $10.50, and other entrees cost $7 to $9.The 2,700-square-foot restaurant, on Bown Way near Boise Avenue, will seat 85 people inside and 50 on the patio around two fire pits. Ellsworth Kincaid Construction, Boise, is the contractor for the project, which was designed by Erstad Architects, Boise, and Steven Langford Architects Inc., Santa Ana, Calif.Lisa grew up in Lewiston and Rob in Priest River. The Lumsdens lived in San Clemente, Calif., for 12 years before moving back to Idaho and into Bown Crossing last December to raise their two sons, Cameron, 6, and Cooper, 3. In San Clemente, the Lumsdens had an 80-mile commute to Los Angeles. Lisa will now be able to walk across the street to work.Rob is the market partner for P.F. Chang's China Bistro in the Washington area, and will remain working with that chain. Lisa was a partner in several restaurants in California and co-founded Fleming's Prime Steakhouse, which has 40 to 50 restaurants across the U.S.The Lumsdens have plans to take Flatbread Community Oven into other states if it's successful. They plan to open a restaurant in Eagle next year. After expanding in Idaho, they may build pizzerias in Oregon, Wyoming, Montana and Washington.The couple thought about building a steakhouse, but decided a pizzeria would be a better fit for a neighborhood family restaurant, Lisa said.They called it a "community oven" because they want to give the restaurant roots in small neighborhoods, Rob said. "We don't want to be in strip malls. We don't want to be in downtown areas. We want to be in communities."Casa Mexico chose to build in Bown Crossing because a lot of Boise's growth seems to be taking place in the southeast part of the city and the atmosphere in Bown Crossing is similar to that of Hyde Park, where one of the five existing Casa Mexico restaurants is located, said Erika Rocha, who will manage the new restaurant. Construction began on the 3,000-square-foot Mexican restaurant two weeks ago. The restaurant is planned to open in mid-July and employ 15 to 20 people. Datum Construction, Eagle, and Houston-Bugatsch Architects, Nampa, are the contractor and architect for the $240,000 restaurant building, which will seat 120 to 125 people.Bown Crossing has had few restaurants until now. Kessler's, a European-style cafe, opened there in fall 2004. Plans for Bown Crossing, a mixed-use development, called for about 11,000 square feet of restaurant space, 20,000 square feet of retail, 12,000 square feet of office space and 11 residential lofts.* * *To contact the author of this story, send email to: lora.volkert@idahobusiness.net.