One of Boise’s ‘Top New Restaurants of 2017’ has closed. Owners plan new business.

The day after Camel’s Crossing reopened last month, co-owner Caitlyn McCoy was hopeful.

Familiar faces were returning. The reservation book was filling.

She and her husband, co-owner Scott McCoy, were planning to add retail wine sales to the restaurant and bar at 1304 W. Alturas St. But food service still seemed feasible, even with the coronavirus lurking.

“We are thrilled that the current forecast looks promising,” she explained in a June email to the Statesman. “However, there are still so many uncertainties with the pandemic and its economic impact. A retail wine component diversifies the business and makes Camel’s Crossing better prepared for whatever lies ahead.”

And now plans have changed.

Camel’s Crossing has closed again — this time, permanently.

The North End space will be remodeled and reopened in September as Hyde Park Wine Shop, McCoy explained in an email to customers.

“While the restaurant would have remained financially viable, we no longer felt that it was safe to risk the health of our employees or guests as infections rise exponentially,” she wrote. “We considered another temporary closure, but the effort and stress of closing and reopening is not sustainable. And frankly, the immediate future of restaurants in general remains precarious. We decided to go a different direction.”

Scott McCoy is “working tirelessly” to curate more than 500 labels from Idaho and the Pacific Northwest, Europe and elsewhere, she said. Hyde Park Wine Shop is slated to have rack capacity for 3,728 bottles. The McCoys plan to offer tastings, educational events and a wine club.

Plus food

“While dine-in service is currently uncertain, food will be available at Hyde Park Wine Shop in the future,” Caitlyn McCoy wrote. “We are keeping the bar seating and back dining room intact in anticipation of such a time that we are able to introduce the type of menu you’ve come to expect from our team.”

That’s good news. Originally envisioned as a wine bar (albeit with octopus on the menu), Camel’s Crossing quickly grew into a culinary force. The hip space — laced with 1970s-style decor — was named one of the Idaho Statesman’s “Top New Restaurants of 2017” in a year-end article.

“This tucked-away restaurant and bar is probably the most exciting dining concept to open in Boise in recent times,” the Statesman’s reviewer wrote.

This story was originally published July 24, 2020 at 10:34 AM.