Doomed by a ‘last nail in our coffin,’ Boise restaurant and bar closes after 45 years
.jpg "In this 2004 file photo, a line cook prepares breakfasts at Kopper Kitchen.")
After nearly half a century, a Boise diner has dished up its last home-style breakfast and finger steak dinner.
Kopper Kitchen, a locally owned restaurant and bar, recently closed. Operating at 2661 W. Airport Way since 1977, according to its website, it served both Idaho residents and airline travelers passing through the city. Kopper Kitchen was taken over by its most recent owners in 2019, according to its Facebook page.
Kopper Kitchen shuttered May 29 before holding a final “kill the keg” blowout one week later in its adjacent pub and grill.
“This is a very difficult day for us,” ownership posted on Facebook.
Like many restaurants, Kopper Kitchen was devastated by the pandemic in 2020. But it rebounded the following year, its owners wrote. Then came staffing shortages and rising food prices. Even though Kopper Kitchen had raised its own prices twice in three years, increasing labor costs finally pushed the business over the edge.
“We operated with a very narrow profit margin in the first place,” ownership explained on Facebook, “so when we had to raise wages, it was the last nail in our coffin.”
In a 2004 restaurant review, the Idaho Statesman referred to Kopper Kitchen as an “institution” for family-style dining. Its menu offered breakfast all day, along with lunch and dinner. “The plates are piled high, and the coffee cups are kept full. The service is nice and attentive. No one gets ignored at the Kopper Kitchen,” the Statesman wrote.
At that point, the Idaho location was the last Kopper Kitchen in existence, the article stated, adding that others mostly had been in Oregon. It’s worth noting that there is at least one other comfort-food restaurant called Kopper Kitchen, established in 1976, still serving all-day breakfast in Saint Petersburg, Florida.
On Facebook last week, Kopper Kitchen in Boise thanked its “amazing” staff, along with “all those that came and went throughout the years.”
The restaurant also expressed gratitude to the local community for supporting it.
“Thank you, again, for so many wonderful years and memories.”
This story was originally published June 7, 2022 at 2:18 PM.