Every month we update this recurring article with new and closing restaurants in Boise, and as several of you pointed out over the last months of 2024, it seemed like the restaurant scene was a revolving door. And sometimes, it seemed like more restaurants were leaving than staying. So City Cast Boise executive producer Frankie Barnhill and I did some digging into Boise’s food scene as it turns the page to 2025.
Do Restaurants Have a Case of Long COVID?
The COVID-19 pandemic sent restaurants scrambling to create or finetune their to-go systems, cutting labor, and generally holding on for dear life. Now almost five years since the pandemic hit the U.S., the food industry is still trying to find its footing.
Susina and Wepa Cafe, two relatively new Boise-area establishments, show two of the main trends restaurants experienced in 2024. Susina owner Tara Morgan said she and her crew found the right combination of offerings to balance life and work after pivoting from her previous catering business. She feels like her head is above water for the first time since the pandemic began.
Wepa Cafe owner Art Robinson, on the other hand, saw sales dip dangerously low this year and is trying to find stability among economic pressures, neighborhood development, and fluctuating cultural tastes.
The Downtown Dilemma
Neither Morgan nor Robinson are alone — even veteran restauranteurs with multiple kitchens in Boise’s downtown core seem happy to have made it through last year. Dave Krick, who co-owns Bittercreek Alehouse, Redfeather Lounge, and Diablo & Sons, all on 8th Street, said his spots were able to weather 2024, but that it wasn’t a banner year by any means.
Where Krick benefits from being centrally located downtown both for hotel guests and locals who want a familiar plate, Morgan’s Bench location and Robinson’s Garden City address are stretching the limits of the restaurant scene geographically.
While Boiseans’ budgets are already tight and food prices are going up, restaurateurs are hoping customers will try new restaurants outside downtown in 2025.
