Closing in downtown Boise, this restaurant will get its buns to Garden City instead

In a stretch of turnover, another restaurant is leaving the Warehouse Food Hall.

Bao Boi plans to shutter within days at the downtown Boise dining collective. An Asian-inspired street food concept, Bao Boi announced the decision on social media Monday.

“After two amazing years, we’re closing our warehouse doors at the end of the week,” Bao Boi wrote. “Thank you for your incredible support and for helping us grow! Excited to announce our new location along the Boise River, opening mid-October!”

Bao Boi on the River will be part of a new multifaceted food-and-drink destination coming to The Boardwalk Apartment Homes, 521 E. 41st St., in Garden City.

Specializing in steam bun sandwiches and Japanese curry, Bao Boi was one of the original vendors at the Warehouse Food Hall, which opened in July 2022.

“Bringing his passion for Asian cuisine to life, Chef Frank Jordan’s Bao Boi takes warm, fluffy dough, fills it with sweet or savory meats and veggies, then steams it to perfection,” the Warehouse Food Hall’s website says . “Pair your steam buns with a side of street corn, gyoza or fries and your taste buds will be singing ‘Bao Chica Bao Bao’. See what we did there?”

The Warehouse, 370 S. 8th St., typically offers more than a dozen places to eat or drink. Bao Boi’s departure is the latest shakeup in a recent string of comings and goings. Four concepts have vanished this year, while five new ones have been announced so far. Among them:

▪ Totally Smashed, a burger concept from food hall operator Geronimo Hospitality Group, replaced grilled-cheese vendor Totally Toasted. The new menu offers smash burgers, fries and shakes.

▪ The former Piedaho spot has reopened as the first brick-and-mortar location for Foy’s Franks, previously a local hot dog cart.

▪ Mazzah Mediterranean Grill, which operates a Boise restaurant at 1772 W. State St., plans to bring “authentic Greek and Middle Eastern flavors to the food hall,” according to a media release, “… with its delectable menu featuring savory gyros, falafel, kababs, baba ghannooj and more.” Mazzah will open in a new build-out next to KB’s Burrito.

▪ Driftwood FryHouse will revive seafood at the Warehouse with “Alaskan cod, shrimp, lobster bisque and other fish-and-chip options.” It will take over the former home of Freshie’s Lobster Co., which closed in March.

▪ And Poppy Seed Bakery and Cafe is slated to open its third Boise location at the Warehouse Food Hall. It will be in the former Paddles Up Poke space.

It’s not clear whether a replacement vendor is waiting in the wings for Bao Boi’s spot. A message to Geronimo Hospitality Group was not immediately returned.