Test result is back after 3 Boise, Eagle restaurants closed for employee exposure risk

A negative test result was positive news this week for three Treasure Valley restaurants.

After closing because of a worker’s possible coronavirus exposure, Bardenay and Coyne’s locations plan to fire up their kitchens again, owner Kevin Settles said.

The employee’s COVID-19 test came back negative, he said Wednesday.

“That is very good news. We were very pleased,” Settles said by phone. “It has astounded me how many people have reached out to me or come up with this these sad faces, saying, ‘We’re so sorry.’ They seem to think we already have the virus in our company. It’s like, ‘No, we don’t.’ We had a responsibility, and we treated it like it was real.”

Settles temporarily closed Bardenay, 610 W. Grove St. in Boise, Bardenay, 155 E. Riverside Drive in Eagle, and Coyne’s, 676 E. Riverside Drive in Eagle, as a precaution March 17. The restaurants’ management team discovered that an employee might have been exposed to a confirmed case of COVID-19 in a neighboring state. Because managers travel to all locations, all stores were shut down. A fourth Idaho restaurant, Bardenay in Coeur d’Alene, also was closed.

Bardenay in Coeur d’Alene reopened this week serving to-go food only.

Coyne’s in Eagle will start dishing up to-go orders Friday, Settles said. It will serve a limited “mash-up” menu that includes favorites from Bardenay such as the salmon filet.

Settles hopes to open Bardenay in downtown Boise next week, also with to-go food only, in accordance with orders handed down by Mayor Lauren McLean and Gov. Brad Little that prohibit dine-in options. Bardenay in Eagle will remain closed for the time being, he said.

Orders can be made by telephone, or by visiting the restaurants’ websites: coynesrestaurant.com and bardenay.com. Settles said he has kept 18 of about 300 of his employees working.

“We’ll see where it goes,” he said. “We’re going to need to be able to do significant business to go beyond that.

“We’re looking forward to full operations again. We’re hoping people do come out to buy to-go food. It’s not the happiest of times, but we’re hanging in there.”

This story was originally published March 26, 2020 at 5:00 AM.