What do you have against this restaurant chain, Boise? First, Meridian closed. Now Mountain Home?

After discovering that the Meridian location of my favorite fast-food Mexican restaurant had closed last year, I asked Boise a question: What do you have against Taco John’s, my friends?

Why can’t one stay afloat in the Boise area?

At least there was a bright side to my Tex-Mex problem. If Taco John’s junkies had that familiar craving, we could still drive to Mountain Home.

Not anymore.

Taco John’s at 495 N. Main St. in Mountain Home has permanently closed. The building owner, who also is the franchisee, let employees know on Wednesday, general manager Polly Saulls said. The store shuttered later that day.

“He’s tired of fixing the building,” she said. “The AC keeps going out, and it’s just a ridiculous amount of money to keep this place going. ... I completely understand.

“All of the employees have been relocated to new jobs,” she added. “I did all that yesterday. I helped all my employees get new jobs.”

That leaves two Taco John’s restaurants in the entire state of Idaho — one in Twin Falls, one in Grangeville.

And, obviously, still none in Boise.

As I wrote in my last lugubrious confessional, I get it: You likely don’t care. Boiseans just want their freakin’ In-N-Out Burger.

That’s looking like it will happen someday. In 2020, In-N-Out told me that it had set a five-year goal to expand to Idaho.

Sorry, I’d rather have a Taco John’s in Boise. (Or can I be greedy? Can we have both?)

For me, Taco John’s is nostalgic. When I was a kid, my mom would buy a sackful of tacos for my brother and me on Taco Tuesdays — two for 99 cents! — and we’d feast.

Those days are long gone.

I’m not sure how many years Taco John’s in Mountain Home was in business. Taco John’s opened its Meridian store in 2016 before closing last year. Before that, there was one in Nampa. It folded in 2014.

Taco John’s actually did operate inside Boise city limits, too. But that was eons ago.

Taco John’s vice president of franchise development told me last year that the chain was looking at expanding into Boise. I fired off an email this week hoping for a good-news update about Boise. He did not immediately respond.

Some people binge eat when they’re depressed. I’ve never wanted a massive pile of Taco Bravos and Potato Oles more than I do right now.

This story was originally published July 8, 2021 at 2:04 PM.