Brewery plans to take over Boise Weekly space, open restaurant. ‘It’s a game changer.’
Boise Brewing wants to expand its horizons — and sell you a hamburger.
The community-supported brewery at 521 W. Broad St. plans to take over the longtime Boise Weekly space next door at 523 W. Broad St., and add taproom seating and — if money is raised — a kitchen.
“The Boise Weekly ... has decided to relocate,” Boise Brewing founder Collin Rudeen wrote in an email to customers. “And we’ve got a letter of intent signed with the building owner to move in!
“This will be an absolute game changer for us,” he added. “We’ve been positively bursting at the seams in our current space. Between increased production and more demand for customer seating, there simply wasn’t room for everything.”
Prior to opening in 2014, Boise Brewing generated over $400,000 by offering shares of stock and signing up more than 200 owners. The downtown Boise brewery welcomed additional investors in 2017.
To expand next door and add a food menu, Boise Brewing needs to raise another $100,000, Rudeen estimates. The latest round of investors has generated $106,568, which is displayed at Boise Brewing’s website. New investors need to push that number to $205,000, Rudeen said. The minimum investment is $1,000.
If the full amount isn’t raised, Rudeen is still “fairly certain” that Boise Brewing will expand into the 3,200-square-foot space, he said in a phone interview, perhaps without a kitchen.
But adding a restaurant dimension would be smart for business, he added.
“Basically, we make our money on beer. And if we’ve got a reason for people to be here longer, to stay here longer, to be here for lunch, then hopefully we sell another pint.”
Boise Weekly is a newspaper owned by Tennessee-based Adams Publishing Group and operated by the Idaho Press in Nampa, which has a Boise bureau in the Broad Street space. The Weekly and Press’ Boise bureau have a new spot planned but haven’t reached a formal agreement yet for the space, publisher Matt Davison said via email. “I can say confidently that Boise Weekly and the Idaho Press downtown news bureau will retain a physical office downtown just a few blocks from our current location,” he told the Statesman.
The earliest that Boise Brewing customers would be allowed into the transformed building probably is fall, Rudeen said. The expansion would triple Boise Brewing’s seating capacity, he said. The extra room also would create the possibility of live music performances and a private event area, Rudeen added.
Ultimately, expanding next door will allow the brewery to grow after the pandemic has ended, he said.
“In normal times, it was frustrating to see somebody come up, open the door and look at the crowd, and just turn around and walk back out,” Rudeen said, “because there wasn’t a seat available.”
Wait. That used to happen at breweries, bars and restaurants?
“You’ve got to cling to those memories,” Rudeen said with a laugh.
▪ Online: boisebrewing.com.
This story was originally published February 23, 2021 at 12:43 PM.