When Bonefish Grill shuttered at the start of 2024, it tweaked the vibe of the BoDo district in downtown Boise.
Chain or not, its absence left a void. The seafood restaurant had evolved into a familiar sight at the corner of 9th and Broad streets. Suddenly dark after 16 years, the vacancy felt palpable.
But soon, the silent, empty space at 855 W. Broad St. will buzz again. This time, with an excited local tenant. And joyous customers clinking beer steins together.
Idaho mountain-town restaurant Tante Emma plans to open a second location in the former Bonefish spot.
The German concept, which debuted in Garden Valley months after Bonefish vanished in Boise, doesn’t have a specific launch date. The hope is to welcome customers by Christmas season, said Stefanie Johannson, who owns Tante Emma with her husband, Lars. Their son, Max, will own the Boise expansion restaurant, she said.
The restaurant menu features dishes such as jagerschnitzel (pictured) and spatzle.
Tante Emma revealed its growth plan recently on social media: “There’s still a LOT to do before this old, dusty space feels anything like the warm, cozy, home-like Tante Emma you know and love. Walls will change. Floors will change. A kitchen and, yes, a beer bar (will) have to be designed. And little by little, this empty space will become a place filled with German food, cold beer, laughter and a whole lot of Gemütlichkeit.”
Idahoans who live in Crouch know Tante Emma well. Diners drive from outside the area to eat there. It is rated 4.8 out of 5 stars on Google and 4.7 out of 5 on Yelp.
“I haven’t had this kind of authentic food since I visited Germany,” a recent Google reviewer wrote. “Do yourself a favor and save room for dessert. The heisse liebe was AMAZING.”
In this photo taken shortly after Bonefish Grill closed in 2024, a sign advertises another space for lease in the building in downtown Boise’s BoDo district.
For Boiseans hungry for updates, news about progress will be metered out via the restaurant’s social media.
“Over the coming weeks and months,” Tante Emma wrote on Instagram, “we’ll be sharing regular peeks behind the scenes — the renovation, the decisions, the surprises, the progress … and probably a little chaos along the way.”
Tante Emma is the latest restaurant with potential to revitalize surrendered food-and-drink destinations in BoDo. Locally operated Spud Daddy welcomed baked-potato fans in June at 404 S. 8th St., which formerly was Kichii Sushi & Spirits, and before that Bodovino. And Cactus, a Seattle-based restaurant and bar chain, is tentatively on track for a late December or early January opening in the longtime P.F. Chang’s space at 391 S. 8th St.
