Second downtown Boise restaurant to close in same week: ‘COVID-19 has not been kind to us’

It’s beginning to look like a cold, dark winter for Boise restaurants.

Hours after El Gallo Giro issued a statement Monday that it plans to close its downtown location Dec. 23, a nearby bakery and cafe revealed that it will meet the same fate even sooner.

After a two-year run, Kiwi Shake & Bake plans to shutter on the street level of The Afton condos at 611 S. 8th St. It serves traditional Kiwi meat pies, mousetraps, cakes and soup, plus milkshakes, coffee, beer and wine. Co-owner Katie Munro, who was born in England, lived in New Zealand for 12 years before relocating to Boise with her husband, Chris, a native New Zealander.

“It is with heavy hearts that we are writing this post,” Kiwi Shake & Bake explained on Facebook. “Unfortunately COVID-19 has not been kind to us and we are closing our restaurant doors on Dec. 20! We wanted to thank everyone for your support and take this time to say we’ve had a blast meeting you all since we opened on Dec. 20, 2018, and we really hope to be able to have a beer/drink with you all before we close.

“We will still be around, though, so fear not, you can still get your meat pie fix, we will just be having a small service kiosk at our commercial kitchen off of west State Street!

“Going forward, we will be focusing on pushing out our wholesale brand (Pie-O-Neer Pies), and for those of you still wanting pies and cakes please feel free to contact us with order inquiries (kiwishakeandbake@gmail.com).”

“Come and join us for a final hoorah on Sunday, Dec. 20, and help us empty the kegs!!! Let’s party ‘Kiwi Style.’ ”

Kiwi Shake & Bake and El Gallo Giro are the most recent downtown restaurants to reveal closures. In November, Boise-based chain Good Burger also closed its flagship location at 1003 W. Main St. “I’m unsure if downtown will pick up soon,” Good Burger’s founder and CEO explained by email.

This story was originally published December 15, 2020 at 9:29 AM.