Will 36th St. Garden Center reopen as a huge brewery restaurant? Hold my beer, Boise. Let’s go look
If you’re wondering whether Sockeye Brewing still plans to open a massive new Boise restaurant at the corner of 36th Street and Hill Road, you’re not alone.
“I probably get asked that question more than I get asked when a new beer is coming out, or what’s new, or what’s up,” says Tyson Cardon, the brewery’s marketing director.
“That’s literally all that people care about Sockeye right now,” he adds with a laugh. “We love it. The hype behind it’s great.”
How great? Even though the full-service restaurant in the former 36th Street Garden Center is nowhere near its launch date — try spring 2022 — Sockeye is willing to let us inside for five hours. To drink beer.
The brewery will host a Repeal Day Party from 2 to 7 p.m. Saturday at its still-to-come location at 3823 N. Garden Center Way. There will be plenty of Sockeye beers (including rare, cellared options), food trucks and live music.
It’s a Roaring ’20s-style event. You get half off your first brew if you dress accordingly. So, yes, there’s significant danger of a North End hipster with an old-timey mustache rolling in on a penny-farthing e-bike.
I’m willing to take the risk. Sockeye knows the real reason most citizens will attend: to figure out what in the Hell-Diver Pale Ale is happening down there!
When Sockeye announced expansion plans in June, it stated — clearly — that the opening wouldn’t come until 2022. But Idahoans are impatient. We’ve been peeking in the windows of the building for months.
Virtually nothing has happened inside. But, behind the scenes, plenty has gone down, Cardon says. The folks at Sockeye remain hopeful that the opening will come around May, as originally planned — probably late May, early June, he guesses.
Sockeye won’t brew at the new spot. But, at more than 12,000 square feet, it’s a giant place. The restaurant will offer indoor and outdoor dining. More than two-dozen taps will pour beer at a bar that also sells wine, hard seltzer and canned cocktails. There will be significant indoor event space available for public and private events.
Sockeye celebrated its 25th anniversary this year. Its original brewery and grill on Cole Road closed in 2019. Sockeye’s flagship brewery — a 12,000-square-foot building that includes a 5,000-square-foot restaurant — opened in 2012 at 12542 W. Fairview Ave.
Ten years later, one of Idaho’s oldest and largest breweries will expand to a Boise neighborhood hungry for entertainment options. Right now, residents of Northwest Boise and the Collister area commute to State Street, Bogus Basin Road or Hyde Park for eating and drinking fun.
So don’t be surprised if curious crowds show up Saturday. (Heads up: You must be 21 or older. All ages will be allowed inside when the family-friendly restaurant fully opens next year.)
“We’re thrilled,” Cardon says. “I think this party is going to be pretty cool. People can kind of get a feel for what it could be, just being in the building. ... It may not be done, but I think people are going to kind of see our vision.”
This story was originally published December 2, 2021 at 4:00 AM.