Gino's Grill relocates from Downtown Boise to Meridian to be closer to customers

Restaurateur Gino Vuolo never thought he would have to relocate either of his two successful, upscale eateries out of Downtown Boise.

In fact, Vuolo was so sure that he would continue to prosper in the Downtown core that he was one of the first to put down a deposit on a condominium in the ill-fated Boise Tower high-rise that was supposed to sit across the street from his adjoining restaurants at 150 N. 8th St.

That was before a sour economy and $4-a-gallon gasoline last summer persuaded him to gamble and move his struggling Gino's Grill restaurant to the BridgeTower development at McMillan and 10 Mile roads in Meridian in hopes of being closer to his customers.

"We started to see the handwriting on the wall in May 2007. Business just kept getting slower and slower," said Vuolo, who is using his savings to keep Gino's Italian Ristorante going in Boise.

"Business is down about 25 percent from a year ago," he said.

Gino's Grill has been closed since June while its new location is being prepared.

Vuolo said a series of events prompted his decision to move to Meridian. First, the housing bust drove away many of the real estate agents and mortgage brokers who used to frequent Gino's Grill. Layoffs at Micron and Hewlett-Packard cost the restaurant even more customers, while gas prices that peaked at $4.16 a gallon in July made his Meridian and Nampa customers reluctant to drive to Boise to eat out.

He was about two weeks away from closing Gino's Grill for good when he met with Frank Varriale, managing partner of Primeland Development LLP., who suggested that Vuolo look over Primeland's BridgeTower project, a 750-acre planned community that will include 110 acres of business space and 90 acres of retail space.

"I wasn't even aware of the project until then" Vuolo said. "I was just planning on shutting down. But after looking at BridgeTower I decided to relocate."

Gino's Grill will occupy 28,000 square feet at BridgeTower when the restaurant reopens sometime in the first quarter of 2009. Currently, the development is home to the Mercado Coffee House and a State Farm Insurance office. Varriale said the development is in talks with other potential tenants, but could not disclose the names.

"We saw the potential of being closer to our customers," said Vuolo, who operates his two restaurants with his wife, Tia. The couple met in 1989 in Naples, Italy. Vuolo was working in his grandmother's restaurant, while Tia - a fourth-generation Boise native - was visiting her brother Wesley, a commander in the U.S. Navy. Her visit turned into a six-year stay.

Varriale said the demographics in the McMillan and Ten Mile area will work in Vuolo's favor. "In a 5-mile radius the population is 83,900. In a 1-mile radius, the population is an estimated 37,000, with an average income of $94,000. So you have a population that will support Gino's restaurant. The response to our advertising shows that people are excited about getting a restaurant of that quality."

With surveys indicating that the Treasure Valley's population center has shifted to the area around Eagle Road and Fairview Avenue, Vuolo's decision to move his restaurant will likely pay off, said Teri Sackman, executive director of the Meridian Chamber of Commerce.

"So even though gas prices have come down, he (Vuolo) will still be closer to his clientele," she said. "And what if you live in Nampa? Would you be willing to go to Gino's more often if it was located in Meridian?"

Vuolo, meanwhile, said that with people eating out less because of the economy, Treasure Valley restaurateurs all have one thing in common these days: "We're all talking about how we're going to survive."

Joe Estrella: 377-6465