Westside Drive In has been serving burgers, fries, and milkshakes from its corner at State and 21st streets for decades. Many know them for their Famous Idaho Ice Cream Potato.

The dessert, which resembles a baked potato complete with toppings, has helped put Westside Drive In — and Idaho — in the national spotlight. The sweet treat has been featured on national television and has become one of the state’s most recognizable culinary creations.

“This is the greatest drive-in in the United States of America, bar none,” said longtime customer Victor Miller.

WATCH | “Food, fun and fifties”—

Famous Idaho Ice Cream Potato helps put Boise landmark on the map

The novelty dessert offers a sweeter version of Idaho’s most famous crop. Made to resemble a baked potato, it has attracted attention from customers across the country and around the world.

The restaurant’s roots stretch back decades, but its modern identity took shape after Chef Lou Aaron purchased the business in 1994.

“When I bought the West Side, I thought I got to make this 50s [themed],” Aaron said. “So we came up with a little slogan, and the slogan was, I mean, when you think of fun, and happy days, you think of 50s.”

Now, Aaron’s daughter Emily Bolton and son Josh Aaron help oversee operations, continuing the family legacy.

“We both grew up working, you know, I cashiered, he cooked, and we both laughed and said never again, and then here we are,” Bolton said.

The restaurant’s profile grew even larger when Food Network personalities, including Guy Fieri of “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” featured Westside Drive In and its signature dessert.

“He says, you know, you better be ready because the people are gonna be flooding in here after this episode airs,” Josh Aaron recalled. “And he came here and really put Boise on the map by, you know, featuring us and all the other restaurants that he has the last few times he’s been here.”

For customers like Miller, the appeal goes beyond the food, “It’s a special Idaho place. It’s like a place that identifies Idaho, Boise, and it’s put us on the map.”

While families continue gathering at the restaurant for a classic American dining experience, Aaron says Westside Drive In also serves another purpose.

As someone in long-term recovery, Aaron has made hiring people facing difficult circumstances a core part of the restaurant’s mission.

“I’m an alcoholic, and I’ve been clean for 36 years now,” Lou Aaron said. “Someone picked me off the ground when I was in the gutter, and it helped change my life. So, almost 90% of our employees at both places are either out of prison, in prison, homeless, you name it. So, we try to help them to rehabilitate them.”

Customers say that commitment to helping others is part of what makes the restaurant special.

“That’s what West Side is about,” Miller said. “It’s about second chances and the lives that he has improved and saved in a lot of ways by giving people another chance in life.”

For the Aaron family, preserving that mission is just as important as preserving the menu.

“You have so many memories here. We have so many customers who’ve been coming here since they were kids,” said Lou Aaron. “It’s more of an institution than it is a restaurant. We will never sell it. I’ll always be in the family.”

Today, Westside Drive In continues serving customers at both its original State Street location and its Parkcenter Boulevard restaurant — carrying on a legacy built on food, family and second chances.

“Mostly what we’re seeing is riders riding above their skill level, also complacency,” Nakashima said. “When you’re riding a motorcycle, it’s probably just a good idea to ride as if you’re invisible — assume that cars can’t see you.”

According to 2024 ITD data, there were 629 motorcycle-related crashes and deaths on Idaho roads. This includes 47 fatalities that represent a 17.5% increase from 2023. Of these crashes, 86% of motorcyclists were injured and 35% of fatal motorcycle crashes involved an impaired rider.

Josephine Middleton, the Idaho Transportation Department’s highway safety manager, said as of Monday there have been 66 lives lost on Idaho roads this year, a value significantly lower compared to this time last year that Middleton noted may be influenced by high gas prices directly impacting the number of trips taken.

Though gas prices are discouraging trips for some, Sunshine Beer, director of the Idaho Skills Training Advantage for Riders (STAR) Motorcycle Safety Program, said motorcyclists are hitting the road earlier with the sparse winter observed in the first quarter of the year.

Lane Triplett, a member of the Motorcycle Safety Task Force of Idaho (MSTF), said he has used his role to review each motorcycle fatality in the state since 2009 and the myriad ways motorcyclists have lost their lives on Idaho’s roads and highways.

“Animal, road hazards, mechanical issues — all those really pale to rider error itself,” Triplett said. Triplett said his review of fatal crashes has consistently shown about 70% of fatal motorcycle crashes in Idaho have been the fault of motorcyclists while 20% of crashes were the fault of other vehicles. The remaining 10% is spread across various other environmental and vehicular variables.

Of the fatal crashes resulting from rider error, Triplett said about 30% stem from failing to navigate a corner. He said alcohol impairment, an issue observed nationwide, is also a major factor. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that 40% of riders who died in single-vehicle crashes across the country in 2024 were impaired by alcohol.

IDAHO FALLS — A 62-year-old woman was sentenced to prison for prostitution trafficking on Friday following an intense hearing.

Seventh District Judge Brendon Taylor sentenced Xue Fang Lu to five years fixed and 15 years indeterminate, meaning she could spend up to 20 years in prison. She will receive credit for the 252 days she has already served.

RELATED | New details in local prostitution case; charges temporarily dropped for former cop accused of human trafficking

Following a five-day jury trial, a jury on March 6 found Lu guilty of felony interstate trafficking of prostitution and felony procurement of prostitution related to an illegal massage business that was operated out of the Fairbridge Inn in Idaho Falls, from March to May 2024.

All of the charges will run concurrently.

The sentencing

During Friday’s hearing, as in many past hearings in this case, Lu demonstrated confusion and frustration with the court process. She continually interrupted other participants in the hearing, despite being repeatedly told to remain quiet by her defense attorney, Sean Bartholick, and the judge.

At one point, Lu held up a written sign to the camera and the gallery that read: “Double Jeopardy.” She argued through her court-appointed interpreter that she was a victim of being punished for the same crime twice.

According to Cornell Law, double jeopardy is defined as “being prosecuted twice for the same crime.”

In November 2024, Lu and her alleged former partner in the crime, Gordon Dennis Shaw, had their charges temporarily delayed due to Shaw becoming ill and unable to participate in court proceedings, according to Bonneville County Prosecutor Randy Neal.

Shaw, an 82-year-old former Idaho Falls police officer, later had all of the charges against him dropped.

RELATED | New details in local prostitution case; charges temporarily dropped for former cop accused of human trafficking

Shaw later testified in Lu’s trial but was never again charged. According to Neal, Shaw is elderly and unable to understand the court process.

After resuming her court proceedings, Lu was put on trial in September 2025, a process that ended in a hung jury when the jurors were unable to reach a unanimous verdict. A new trial was held in March, when a different jury unanimously found her guilty.

During the sentencing hearing, Taylor explained this to Lu multiple times, reiterating that she has been charged in only one case in Idaho.

Prosecution’s arguments

Neal argued that Lu should be sentenced to six years in prison fixed, and 18 years indeterminate due to the depravity of her crime and the horrific circumstances that she put the victim through.

According to Neal, Lu texted the victim about an arrangement for sex in which the customers were charged extra if they preferred to have unprotected sex.

“There’s actually a discussion of an arrangement for sex which included that the individual was paying more so that he would not have to wear a condom,” Neal said. “One of the texts between Ms. Lu and the victim in this case stated that, explaining that the sex was so severe, that she had been (expletive) hacked to death for $150.”

Neal says the victim in the case was convinced by Lu to come from California to Idaho, a place where she didn’t know anybody, and stay in the hotel at all hours, only leaving to be taken to Walmart to buy food.

“She was basically in an area that she knew no one. She had no support. She had no family or friends, and she had basically no money,” said Neal. “In addition to the victim, Ms. Lu was involving an 82-year-old man who, at the time, it appears was being taken advantage of by several individuals.”

Neal argued that Shaw was being taken advantage of due to his age, stating that Lu used him to contact the victim instead of doing it herself and to limit her “exposure.”

Bartholick objected to this claim, stating that Shaw was in good enough health that he testified for the prosecution during Lu’s trial.

“The state doesn’t get to have it both ways,” Bartholick said. “You can’t go to trial and present this persona as a source of evidence, and try to use it to get a conviction, and then show up at (sentencing) and somehow claim he’s a victim as well.”

RELATED | Former Idaho Falls cop charged with human trafficking and prostitution

Defense’s arguments

Bartholick argued that his client should be sentenced to probation or a retained jurisdiction, also known as a rider, due to her minimal prior criminal history and multiple issues throughout the case, including that Shaw’s charges were dropped and Lu’s were not.

“We have a clear case of selective prosecution, where the state wants to argue some outrage when Mr. Shaw was charged, and cases against him were dismissed,” said Bartholick. “You have a defendant that’s 62 years old with one single misdemeanor, and then you have a case where clearly there was at least an alleged co-conspirator.”

At sentencing, Bartholick and Neal repeatedly made slighting remarks toward each other, instigated by Bartholick, who taunted Neal about his recent election loss in the Idaho Primary for District 7 Judge.

At one point, the prosecutor and defense attorney were arguing over the credibility of a witness, and Neal stated that the questioning had “gone far enough.”

Bartholick responded that it’s “not your call.”

Neal said, “It’s not your witness.”

Bartholick retorted with, “It’s my objection.” He then told Neal, “You’re only 30% correct,” apparently referencing the recent election in which Neal received 30% of the vote for the judgeship. Neal’s opponent, District Judge Steven Boyce, won with 70% of the vote.

Taylor asked the two to stop the personal comments and attacks multiple times during the hearing.

Lu’s statement

Before Taylor made his ruling, Lu provided a statement to the court through an interpreter, repeating her concerns about double jeopardy, her current and past attorneys, and her arrest.

“I am innocent and a law-abiding person,” Lu said through the interpreter. “(The police) didn’t read me my rights; they didn’t have a search warrant.”

Lu also told the court that she was in a relationship with Shaw and that she was having trouble finding a job.

“Dennis and I loved each other at the time,” said Lu through an interpreter. “We often had a video call with my mom. In those video calls, my mom told us, ‘You need to take care of each other.’”

The ruling

Taylor told the court he believed the prosecution had successfully shown the evidence of the crimes and that the only answer was to sentence Lu to prison.

“The state put on sufficient evidence to show that Ms. Lu contacted the victim in California and assisted the victim in coming to the state of Idaho for the purpose of performing acts of prostitution,” Taylor said. “This is a victim-based crime that certainly puts the individual engaging in prostitution at substantial risk.”

Based on her prior court conduct, Lu was physically removed from the courtroom by multiple deputies.