A lakefront restaurant in downtown McCall has rebranded and now offers a dinner menu anchored by house smoked meats.
The Den on Payette, formerly known as Brunchette on the Lake, opened in November after a five-day remodel of the restaurant’s downstairs space in the Waterfront Building at 317 East Lake St.
“We’re here in McCall, on the water down below street level, kind of hidden, and so we thought that would be perfect,” owner Wes St. Louis said of the new name.
St. Louis bought Brunchette in November 2023 and moved to McCall with his wife and their two children to realize a dream that was sparked 10 years earlier on a visit to McCall for a family member’s wedding.
“We always dreamt of this area and finding a way to have our family and plant some roots in a town where we wanted to call home for the long term,” he said.
What’s new?
St. Louis operated under the Brunchette name following the sale, but has made several changes to the menu and recently completed a remodel of the restaurant to coincide with its re-opening as The Den.
The former white and gold interior was swapped out for natural wood tones that St. Louis believes better match McCall’s mountain resort town aesthetic.
The Den’s kitchen was also remodeled to expand the former breakfast and brunch restaurant’s offering to include dinner. Each menu incorporates the variety of meats smoked in house daily, including brisket, pastrami, and pork ribs.
Smoked meats
The Den currently has two smokers, but St. Louis hopes to add a third by next summer. That could allow the restaurant to add new choices to its smoked meat selection, like sausages.
“We’re trying out a special right now with some smoked pork butt for some pulled pork sandwiches and pulled pork tacos,” St. Louis said.
All of The Den’s smoked meats are smoked in-house daily on the restaurant’s two smokers, offering diners a unique homemade barbecue experience.
“You can come sit down at a table and stare at the smoker 10 feet away from your window seat and watch the magic happen,” St. Louis said.
Without donors like you, this story would not exist.
Make a donation of any size here
Other menu items
The Den’s dinner and lunch menus also include traditional bites like burgers, chicken wings, sandwiches, soups, and salads.
The breakfast menu has been revamped since the restaurant’s days as Brunchette, but still includes omelets, burritos, benedicts, and other classics, but with house smoked brisket available as an add-on to several items.
St. Louis is new to the restaurant business after working in car sales for 17 years, but said he feels “right at home” serving up hot meals instead of hot deals.
“They’re two totally different animals, but at the same time they’re very similar,” St. Louis said of the career change. “It’s all about taking care of the employees and taking care of the customers. That’s no different in the restaurant industry than it is in the auto industry.”
