Longtime Boise restaurant closes, to be gutted. ‘Ultra-modern’ new one to replace it.

If you’re a taco fiend, you might be bummed that Baja Fresh recently closed at 980 S. Broadway Ave.

Was it just a chain restaurant? Sure. But it’s been a familiar sight near Boise State for, like, 15 years. (I’ve been unable to confirm this, but it appears to have opened in 2005, based on a Statesman article mentioning Baja Fresh requesting a sign variance that year.)

Still, your nostalgic BSU loss might be your stomach’s gain.

This spring, Cafe Rio Mexican Grill is slated to open where Baja Fresh closed.

Is it also just another chain? Affirmative. But it won’t be just any Cafe Rio, said Terry Loock, the company’s director of construction.

“It’s actually a brand-new design,” Loock explained during a short phone interview. “It won’t be like the other ones there.”

With an estimated cost of $400,000, according to the permit application, this restaurant is a full-on reinvention for the space: new kitchen equipment, furniture, exterior paint, restrooms — the whole enchilada.

“We’re gutting the whole thing,” Loock said. “... It’ll be a fresh look and be ultra-modern equipment. We’ve got four or five (pieces of) custom-made kitchen equipment just for Cafe Rio.”

Based in Utah, Cafe Rio operates more than 125 restaurants, including two in the Treasure Valley — at 8233 W. Franklin Road in Boise and at 396 S. Eagle Road in Eagle.

The new Broadway store’s fancier set-up will “be the same food,” Loock explained, “only prepared better.”

Founded in 1997 in St. George, Cafe Rio serves “fresh food, made fresh,” the company says: “No freezers. No microwaves. Nothing premade.”

Most entrees cost between $7 and $12. There also are menu specials such as Taco Tuesdays, when shredded beef and vegetarian tacos go for as little as $1.99.

In addition to handling around 100 bodies inside, the restaurant will include updated, bench-style patio seating outside with a fixed canopy. It will accommodate a dozen or so diners, Loock said.

(This is outdoors-crazy Boise. That detail was crucial.)

Loock said his “best guess” is that the new Cafe Rio will open in late May. Construction schedules are subject to change, of course.

If you’re still craving Baja Fresh, by the way? There are two remaining stores around here — one in Boise at 992 N. Milwaukee St. and one in Meridian at 1440 N. Eagle Road.

Online: caferio.com.

This story was originally published February 18, 2020 at 4:34 PM.