Boise restaurant closes flagship location. ‘I’m unsure if downtown will pick up soon.’

The handwritten message still on the door ends with a smiley-face: “Closed for the day! Sorry friends,” it says.

But for Boise restaurant owners, the past year has been anything but cheery.

Good Burger has closed permanently at 1003 W. Main St. Founder and CEO Nicholas Jones said he made the decision to shutter the store in the Kount building last month.

“I’m unsure if downtown will pick up soon,” he explained in an email. “I’m pursuing a drive-thru location, and my landlord offered me an opportunity to leave.”

Opened in March of 2019, the downtown Good Burger was the Idaho-based chain’s flagship store. Along with Good Burger’s fast-casual menu of hamburgers and fries, it featured a self-pour beer wall with an array of taps.

Jones is negotiating on two potential Boise spots for a new Good Burger drive-thru, he said.

Launched in 2018, Jones’ Good Burger brand has expanded quickly. There are Good Burgers at 7610 W. State St., in the Boise Towne Square Mall food court, at Chow Public Market at the Boise Spectrum, and at 3143 E. Magic View Drive in Meridian. Good Burger also operates four stores in Utah: three in the Salt Lake City area, and a drive-thru in Saint George.

Idaho Falls is the next expansion target, Jones added.

Good Burger’s “rapid growth is driven just by success,” he told the Idaho Statesman last year. “People are really, really liking it.”

This story was originally published December 1, 2020 at 10:48 AM.