After reopening, these popular Boise bars just closed again because of coronavirus

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect the new date Bittercreek and Diablo & Sons plan to reopen.

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Popular downtown Boise restaurant and bar Bittercreek Alehouse and its adjoining operation, Diablo & Sons, have closed again as a temporary coronavirus precaution.

The closure is intended to be brief, brand manager David Roberts said Thursday.

Bittercreek, 246 N. 8th St., made the announcement on its Facebook page. After closing in March along with other Boise restaurants, Bittercreek and Diablo & Sons reopened with coronavirus protocols in place on June 1.

“Given the impact of COVID-19 on our friends and partners in the Boise service industry, we are again closing,” Bittercreek wrote on Facebook. “We are diligently working to find out more information about any connection our staff have with confirmed cases and working with staff to get tested. If we find out that any staff test positive we will post fully transparent updates. Thank you again for all of your support during this time.”

Roberts said Bittercreek’s decision was made after staff became aware of service-industry employees at other Boise businesses being infected. Central District Health Department recently has reported cases of customers infected with COVID-19 visiting bars in Boise and Meridian.

“We all have a strong emotional reaction to the way it was impacting people in the industry,” Roberts said. “We wanted to take a quick little break to conduct a bunch of fact finding and tracing, as well as conduct a bunch of testing.”

Roberts expects Bittercreek and Diablo & Sons to open again Monday, June 22, he said, assuming no staff member tests positive. If that happens, Bittercreek will report it on social media, he said.

“If we have a positive test come back, we’re going to say it,” he said. “We’re not going to be hiding it.”

This story was originally published June 18, 2020 at 10:57 AM.