‘Permanently closed’: Unique Boise bar shutters after 50 years. Is it real this time?
A uniquely positioned dive bar with five decades of Boise history has gone dark again.
The Symposion, 2801 Fletcher St., stopped pouring drinks at the end of the night Thursday, Jan. 2.
The bar’s hours have been updated to “permanently closed” on Facebook. No other information was posted. But its phone number has been disconnected.
If the past is any indication, though, regulars might not be ready to pour one out for their homey quite yet.
Reminding everyone that it had been around since 1975, Symposion told the world that it was closing in 2023. Customers gathered for one last hurrah at the isolated neighborhood watering hole, which is nestled between Fairview Avenue and the I-184 Connector. The goodbye party even featured a potluck.
But less than a month later? The Symposion magically reopened.
“It’s complicated,” manager-operator Chris Leverenz explained back then.
That closure was related to a liquor license issue, according to reporting from KTVB. Specifically, changes made by the Idaho Legislature that affected how licenses can be transferred.
Is that the scenario again? Or will this finally be a case of bulldozers in the name of progress? Apartments were proposed at the site in 2022, according to previous Statesman reporting.
Whatever the future holds for the old dog-friendly bar this time, cocktails are not part of it for now.
This story was originally published January 6, 2025 at 1:12 PM.