For 58 years, the lot at 223 13th Ave. S. sold cars. Honstead Motor Company ran there from 1932 to 1990, and before that the site was a gas station, according to Mustard Seed Home Decor & More co-owners Rachelle Chavez and Marcia Garcia, who told the Idaho Press about the building's past. Mustard Seed has sold vintage finds and furniture from the old dealership site since 2014. A little more than 13 years after the business started, it doubled in size.
Within a short walk of that storefront, the stretch of 13th Avenue South now holds a barbecue restaurant, a gift boutique with an art studio, and a smoked-fish cafe, all new this year. Every one of them keeps daytime hours. That makes the block easy to plan around, and on Saturday, Nov. 28, downtown's Shop Small celebration and the city's tree lighting at the train depot fall on the same day.
The shop that was already here
Mustard Seed opened in December 2012 across the street at 1215 3rd St. S. It stayed there for 16 months and has been on 13th Avenue South since April 2014. Four family members run it together: Chavez, her husband Ralph Chavez, and her parents, Marcia and Adrian Garcia.
The expansion added 2,000 square feet and a room called The Gathering Grove. People can reserve it in two-hour blocks during business hours for $40, which covers coffee, tea, water and light snacks. Chavez handles bookings. A book club, a small craft session or a planning meeting with coffee now has a home on the block.
That history matters for what came next. The businesses that arrived in 2026 moved onto a street a local shop had already held for more than a decade.
Four doors, in walking order
Starting from the south end of the block, here are the addresses on and around 13th Avenue South:
- The Smoky Pickle, 112 13th Ave. S.: barbecue served on trays from a deli-style line, with a pickle bar
- Lovestruck Boutique Co., 118 13th Ave. S.: a love-themed gift shop with a charm bar and an art studio
- Solovey Cafe, 207 13th Ave. S.: espresso, pastries and smoked fish you can take home
- Mustard Seed Home Decor & More, 223 13th Ave. S.: home decor, vintage pieces and The Gathering Grove
The Smoky Pickle belongs to Nate Lindskoog, who has run The Tower Grill at Nampa Municipal Airport since October 2016. In March, BoiseDev reported that the restaurant would open just off 13th Avenue that spring under the slogan "All you need is smoke, pickles, and prayer." When the Idaho Press visited in August, the restaurant was serving customers during a trial run, and the menu covered brisket, St. Louis-style ribs, pulled pork, turkey and beef tallow fries. California tri-tip was still to come. Lindskoog told the paper that brisket takes about 48 hours from trimming to tray, including a rest of 16 to 24 hours. He described his menu as a mix of regional styles. "But what's Idaho barbecue? It's whatever you want, right?" he said in that interview.
Two doors up, Lovestruck Boutique Co. stocks 10 love-themed categories, from pet love to travel love to vintage love. It carries goods from local vendors and holds interactive art classes, including pet portrait painting, according to BoiseDev. The owner is Kristy Hilton, who also teaches full time in the Middleton School District. The shop's own site lists its address as 118 13th Ave. S.
Solovey Cafe is the retail front for Solovey Kitchen, a cured and cold-smoked fish company. BoiseDev reported that it built an online following of more than 300,000 in less than a year, and its products ship across the country. Co-owner Dimitriy Solovey told BoiseDev the company "grew incredibly fast after our product review videos went viral on TikTok." At 207 13th Ave. S., the counter offers lattes and croissants alongside smoked salmon toast, according to a visit write-up from Idaho Family Life.
Why the newcomers chose this street
Hilton has explained why she came to downtown Nampa. "We chose Nampa because the downtown location had a lot of walkable areas and a lot of great restaurants and stores already established," she told BoiseDev in July.
Lovestruck opened a short walk from a decor shop that has been on the street since 2014. Solovey Kitchen ships across the country, and it put its cafe here. The Smoky Pickle's owner already had a decade of restaurant experience across town at the airport. All three moved onto a working retail block.
The new places also borrowed the block's schedule.
A block that closes before dinner
| Business | Days | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Solovey Cafe | Monday through Saturday | 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. |
| Lovestruck Boutique Co. | Wednesday through Saturday | 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. |
| S'mores / Shop Small Saturday | Nov. 28 | 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
Solovey's hours come from the Idaho Family Life write-up, and Lovestruck's from BoiseDev's opening story. Small shops sometimes change their hours with the season, so check each business's own channels before you go.
These hours make 13th Avenue South a Saturday block more than a weeknight block. Lovestruck is closed Sunday through Tuesday. Solovey stops pouring coffee at 4:30. A visit fits best in the late morning and early afternoon at the end of the week, and the Saturday after Thanksgiving falls right in that window.
Saturday, Nov. 28, from start to finish
Downtown Nampa's calendar lists S'mores / Shop Small Saturday on Nov. 28 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. It's free, and the event schedule describes it as a chance to "warm up downtown with s'mores and a shop-small celebration." The same Saturday, the City of Nampa holds its community tree lighting at the historic train depot, 1200 Front St., CBS2 reported. The city's update to that story moved the tree's arrival to Nov. 6, and Parks Department staff will spend several weeks decorating it before the lighting.
Here's one way to spend the day:
- Start with coffee at Solovey Cafe. The cafe's listed hours have it open by 8 a.m., well before the shop-small hours begin. If you're hosting family for the holiday weekend, the smoked fish counter is an easy place to pick something up.
- Head to Mustard Seed when Shop Small begins at 11. The expansion means twice the floor space to browse, and The Gathering Grove shows what a small group can book there after the holidays.
- Stop at Lovestruck before it closes at 4. The charm bar and local-vendor goods suit stocking stuffers, and the art classes make good gifts for the coming year.
- Plan lunch around The Smoky Pickle at 112 13th Ave. S. It sits at the south end of the block, close to where you started.
- Get s'mores before 5 p.m. That's when the downtown shop-small window closes.
- Walk to the depot at 1200 Front St. for the tree lighting. Check the City of Nampa's posted start time for the lighting before you head out.
The holiday weekend has more on the calendar. Visit Nampa lists the Canyon County Festival of Trees from Nov. 27 to Nov. 30, which overlaps with Shop Small Saturday.
Joyce has spent more than 30 years watching streets like 13th Avenue South fill in, one family business at a time, across the Treasure Valley. If you'd like to know how blocks like this one are changing near you, or what your own place in Canyon County is worth heading into the new year, Little Dream Homes is happy to talk it through. Request a free consultation and home valuation, and Joyce will reply personally.
