With COVID ‘in the family,’ Boise fine dining restaurant closes for ‘a breather’

When the coronavirus arrived this spring, a spate of responsible Idaho restaurants closed temporarily after employees contracted COVID-19.

Now the pandemic is resurgent. And diners are feeling the impact again.

Chandlers, 981 W. Grove St. at Hotel 43, has shuttered for now. The downtown steakhouse — Boise’s best-known high-end restaurant — made the announcement on its website, on social media and in an emailed statement titled “Taking a breather.”

“In full transparency, we have had our first positive cases of COVID-19 within the Chandlers family,” the email said. “Therefore we are suspending service until Friday, Nov. 13.

“During this down time, we are exercising an abundance of caution. We are installing a new state-of-the-art bipolar ionization system to our HVAC system. This improvement circulates and cleans the air of 99.4 percent of pollutants, dust, allergens, mold, bacteria and viruses, making Chandlers a safer place to be. We’ll also use this time to do a deep clean of the kitchen and restaurant.”

Needlepoint bipolar ionization is becoming an increasingly familiar term to diners concerned with pandemic safety. Until further studies are done with the coronavirus, some experts are cautious about the technology, which is not new. But other Boise restaurants, such as Bacon and Bardenay, have installed it. Bacon owner John Berryhill, an early adopter locally, called the investment “a no-brainer.”

Opened in 2007, Chandlers is a local fine-dining icon specializing in steaks, seafood and jazz music. It was the only Boise restaurant to receive a Best of Award of Excellence in this year’s Wine Spectator Awards.

This story was originally published November 5, 2020 at 2:40 PM.