Danielle has worked incredibly hard to bring her dream of owning a restaurant to reality. Her ability, grit, tenacity and sense of service to others exemplify what we value in Vandals. She is indeed a Brave and Bold Vandal — one that is making a difference in Boise and as a leader in the restaurant industry.
Danielle was an Interior Design major before she came to University of Idaho to study Exercise, Sport and Health Science. While at U of I, she had a service trip to Nicaragua where she was transformed witnessing the meaningful connection between community and health, and the relation of food with both. After graduating in 2016, she moved to Boise to begin her working life, but quickly realized she needed to unleash her entrepreneurial spirit and match it with her dream of building community through food.
Danielle was able to first start Haute Foods, a take-out restaurant, in 2020. This was not an easy time for any business during the pandemic. Danielle is not one to back down from a challenge and started work on her concept for a brick-and-mortar restaurant. She turned that dream into reality through old-fashioned hard work and smarts. Her second restaurant, Apericena, opened in July 2022. Opening and managing two small businesses in only two years is a testament to both her competence and her tenacity.
More important than her business and professional accomplishments is her “service to others” spirit that imbues all she does. Her experience at U of I, especially in her community health and health promotion classes, was transformational in how she decided to lead a life of creating value for others. Her restaurants center around building a community of staff, which fuels her desire to transform the restaurant industry as a profession, beyond just “jobs” for her employees. She believes a happy and healthy community, coupled with healthy and tasty ingredients, is a recipe for success not just at mealtime but beyond.
One of the most impressive things about Danielle is her character, her courage and how she approaches challenges. Only three years ago, Danielle was very ill and bedridden for a significant amount of time. With little outside support, she fought her way back to health with the courage to chase her dream. Her dream blended three passions — food, health and community. In true entrepreneurial spirit, with the strength of character to follow her passion, she has navigated all the business pitfalls that often ruin most small business owners. The word “quit” is not in her vocabulary. She proves how a good idea, coupled with strong character and courage, with a load of hard work, gets you closer to realizing one’s dreams.
Danielle Christine exemplifies both the Vandal ethic and the quality graduates we produce at University of Idaho. Danielle’s leadership builds community with the people she works with and serves and is a model of success within the service industry. Danielle Christine is Brave and Bold in her ideas and actions. She epitomizes the potential of young Vandal graduates.
