Boise restaurant closes after 22 years, ‘cool stuff’ gets auctioned. Want a 9-foot fish?

When McGrath’s Fish House opened in 1998, it was a lofty addition to the Boise dining scene.

An Idaho Statesman review described the seafood restaurant as “handsome” in 2001 — “an upscale chain where no expense is spared to create a mood.” Mounted fish and other decor kept you “looking around, intrigued and impressed, while you wait for your table.”

Now you can own those memories. They’re for sale in the shuttered building at 1749 S. Cole Road.

McGrath’s has closed at the Boise Spectrum. Its furnishings and kitchen equipment are being liquidated at an online auction of 286 lots. Bidders who want to see items in person can visit until 5 p.m. Dec. 15, then from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Dec. 16. The online auction goes until 1 p.m. Dec. 16. At that point, items have one minute to receive bids, or they close.

“There’s some cool stuff,” says Dustin Downs, operations manager at family-owned Downs Auction Service of Eagle. “It’s just a really cool auction.”

Want to buy a 9-foot marlin mount? Bidding was up to $125 this morning. How about a “Lucky Peak Bait Shop” sign? That was at $150. Or just buy the metal McGrath’s sign right off the building’s exterior. It was at $40.

Other items on the block include ovens, a ceiling fan system, stainless steel prep tables, tables, chairs, wood-carved fisherman shelves, a lobster aquarium, artwork, signs, skillets, pans and much more.

McGrath’s closure was unexpected but not shocking. The coronavirus pandemic has challenged restaurants worldwide. Still, COVID-19 is not mentioned in a note on the front door attributed to founder John McGrath. “Our lease has expired, so we’re forced to close our Boise restaurant,” it says.

Based in Salem, Oregon, the McGrath’s chain has survived ups and downs. It filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors in 2010, when it had 20 restaurants in six states.

Boise was among the locations that stayed open. “It’s been there a long time,” McGrath told the Idaho Statesman then. “It’s a mature property, and it has no debt.”

McGrath’s Fish House now operates four restaurants, according to its website: three in Oregon and one in Washington.

Perhaps nobody was more surprised to see the Boise Spectrum restaurant go dark than Downs. He ate at McGrath’s with his wife and in-laws earlier this year, he said.

“Kind of a bummer deal. The food was terrific,” Downs said.

“We were like, ‘Let’s mix it up. Let’s eat at McGrath’s.’ Now they’re closed.”

But bidding is still open — for another 24 hours or so.

This story was originally published December 15, 2020 at 1:20 PM.