Remember this Boise bar closing after nearly 50 years? Um, it’s pouring drinks again
Even if you never set foot in the place, you knew about The Symposion.
So when the cocktail lounge announced that it was closing late this spring, Boise noticed.
Nestled between Fairview Avenue and the I-184 Connector, The Symposion was treasured for decades for its isolated charm. In 2005, the Idaho Statesman’s Thrive magazine wrote that its owner at the time described it as “a neighborhood bar with no neighborhood.”
So several weeks ago, regulars gathered for one last hurrah at 2801 Fletcher St. The farewell gathering June 17 even included a potluck.
Then the Sympo, as bartenders and regulars have sometimes called it, went dark.
Except in case you haven’t noticed — and I had not until recently — it didn’t stay closed. It reopened July 11. Like, less than a month after it had shuttered.
What the heck is going on?
“We are open,” manager-operator Chris Leverenz confirmed when I phoned the bar, which is family-owned.
“It’s complicated,” he added.
Rumors had flown for a while about the dog-friendly bar’s demise — all in the name of progress. Apartments were proposed at the site in 2022, according to previous Statesman reporting.
But, apparently, potential bulldozers and construction weren’t the cause of the brief vanishing act.
The Symposion’s closure was related to a liquor license issue, according to reporting from KTVB. Specifically, recent changes made by the Idaho Legislature that affect how licenses can be transferred.
(Is it me, or does it definitely seem as if the Legislature needs to readdress Senate Bill 1120?)
Either way, Idahoans shouldn’t take The Symposion for granted, even if it’s been around since 1975.
Between liquor license challenges and the frenetic pace of Boise development, it’s difficult to imagine that old building surviving another five years, let alone 50.
“No overpriced apartments”? a commenter asked on The Symposion’s Facebook page when it announced its unexpected return.
“Not yet!” the business replied.
This story was originally published August 14, 2023 at 2:02 PM.