‘Surrounded’ by downtown construction, this Boise restaurant surrendered, closed for now

For what feels like an eternity, downtown Boise construction has blocked off streets, torn up sidewalks, and confused drivers and pedestrians.

Worse yet, it never seems to stop.

At least one business has thrown in the towel for the time being.

Locally owned Big City Coffee & Cafe, 1416 W. Grove St., recently announced that it had shuttered temporarily. A sign on the front door says it is “due to construction.”

“Grove Street is a literal Road to Nowhere right now,” the Linen District coffee shop and restaurant wrote on social media Aug. 11. “Big City is closed until early September.

“We are surrounded by road construction,” it added. “Grove Street between 14th and 15th will be closed until the end of November.”

No specific reopening date has been revealed.

On its website , Big City notes that the closure also is because of “outside circumstances.” It allows time to focus on a trial starting Wednesday, Aug. 28. Big City Coffee sued Boise State in October 2021 after filing a $10 million tort claim. Owner Sarah Fendley alleged that the university bowed to student pressure and pushed its shop off campus because of Big City’s support of law enforcement.

Big City also reminded Boiseans that nearby businesses remain open and “need you” — including Crazy Neighbor, Hops & Bottles, Outdoor Exchange and Hidden Crow Tattoo.

Hurt by downtown construction earlier this year, Stardust, 1002 W. Main St., pivoted in June by temporarily reducing its menu and hours . “It’s just a difficult time,” owner Jamie Burns said in an email at the time, “and we are going to fight our way out of this mess that ACHD has created.”

Last week, Stardust expanded hours again and is open daily except Wednesdays.

Construction is just one of the challenges that restaurants face. Jasson Parra, owner of Lemon Tree Co., 224 N. 10th St., recently told the Idaho Statesman that business has dropped significantly from last year at all three of his sandwich shops — not just the one downtown. But the 10th Street restaurant’s business probably has decreased the most, he added.

The assumption among restaurant owners downtown is that things could bounce back, he said.

“Our hope is that once this construction subsides, and people are starting to move into those condos, it’s going to look like busy downtown again,” Parra says, “and people are going to start going out again. But, obviously, it’s a hope and a prayer right now. That doesn’t help in August of 2024.”

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