Boise restaurant closes after 20-plus years. But ‘people are going to love’ what opens next.

The pandemic has been challenging for restaurants — and confusing for diners wondering whether some of their favorite spots have vanished forever.

Top Wok, 12375 W. Chinden Blvd., went dark earlier this year at BRC Plaza. The Mandarin-style Chinese restaurant has been a West Boise staple since the late 1990s. Its Facebook page still claims it’s open. Google says it’s “temporarily closed.”

It’s permanent. Top Wok has shuttered, taking its six-page menu and two decades of fond memories with it.

But there’s a silver lining. A new Asian restaurant plans to spice up the space next year.

Boise Thai Noodle House is on track to open in the first quarter of 2021, owner Frank Adams said in a phone interview.

Adams’ wife, Pisutkan, is from Thailand. She and her family will cook specialties from northern, central and southern Thailand, Adams said. They’re hoping to bring a new perspective to the Treasure Valley restaurant scene. “We’ve been going to all these other Thai restaurants,” Adams said, “checking out what their food’s like, seeing how we can improve on it.

“I think we’ve got a lot to offer.”

As a Thai noodle restaurant, there will be a focus on soups: Duck, chicken, pork, beef, vegetable. And fresh spring rolls, too.

“And then, of course, we’ve got some authentic-type dishes that people are going to love,” Adams said. “They’re going to love pad see ew.” That stir-fry dish, made with wide rice noodles, is a popular, soy-sauce-powered street food in Thailand.

Boise Thai Noodle House should be open by February or March, Adams said. The restaurant will offer seated dining and takeout food. Third-party delivery also will be available.

With the coronavirus’ impact potentially fading by spring, Boise Thai Noodle House would seem to have solid opportunity. Adams likes the location, he said. Top Wok succeeded in that spot for decades. “A lot of offices in the back, hotel to the right, lot of foot traffic,” Adams observed.

“There’s no Thai restaurants in Eagle — we’re right in that vicinity,” he added. “So I think that will be a good area for us.”