‘We’re done’: After high hopes, year-old restaurant startup closes in Boise, Meridian
When local restaurateur Grant Rosendahl launched the Tommy’s Italian concept last fall, he had high hopes — and visions of a burgeoning new pasta chain.
But roughly a year after he opened the first restaurant in Meridian — and about five months after expanding to West Boise — the experiment screeched to a halt.
“We’re done,” Rosendahl said. “... The writing was on the wall.”
Tommy’s Italian has closed at 2976 E. Overland Road and at 13601 W. McMillan Road. The first shuttered at the end of August; the second near the end of October, he said.
Rosendahl, who owns traditional sit-down restaurant il Sugo Italian Kitchen, 1407 W. McMillan Road in Meridian, had pictured the Tommy’s fast-casual brand as “il Sugo’s kickass younger brother.”
It offered a takeout-friendly, scoop-and-serve, pasta bowl concept.
“On paper, the idea sounds great,” Rosendahl said in retrospect. “... You got two meatballs and probably 10 ounces of pasta and at least eight to 10 ounces of sauce. So you’re looking at a 20-ounce bowl of pasta for $12.95.”
But foot traffic lagged. Some customers requested pizza or sandwiches instead of pasta. Plus, staffing was sometimes challenging.
“It’s a bummer ...” he said. “I just had to pull the trigger. It’s a business, not a hobby. And the business was losing money.”
“I gave it a shot ... Maybe it was the wrong time, wrong concept,” he added good-naturedly. “It’s all good.”
Speaking of good? Rosendahl has no plans to close il Sugo, which opened in 2021.
“People love it,” he said. “I love the guests that come in.”
Rosendahl is no stranger to selling food in an industry of razor-thin margins. He owned Main Street Deli in downtown Boise for years before closing it and focusing on il Sugo in Meridian.
The restaurant world? “It is tough,” Rosendahl says. “That’s all there is to it.”
He has no regrets about trying to launch Tommy’s.
“It just is what it is, man. Honestly, at the end of the day, it’s just money,” he said with a laugh, “and money’s going to come and go through my hands for the rest of my life!”
This story was originally published November 7, 2024 at 4:00 AM.