How popular is this growing Boise restaurant chain? It now has locations 2 minutes apart

Boise clearly loves Paddles Up Poke.

The local chain’s bowls and burritos — filled with chunks of raw, marinated fish — are both yummy and health-conscious.

Now downtown Boise has the opportunity to really love it.

On Monday, Paddles Up opened its sixth Treasure Valley location. It’s inside the newly launched Warehouse Food Hall at 370 S. 8th St. Paddles Up joins 11 other food-and-drink vendors there.

Notably, Paddles Up also joins itself downtown.

The original flagship store, opened in 2017, is less than half a mile away at 237 N. 9th St. — precisely .38 miles, or around 2 minutes, according to MapQuest.

Even for a popular local chain, that proximity is unusual.

“It’s pretty close,” owner Daniel Landucci admits.

Why operate two locations breathing down each other’s necks? (Not to mention another one at nearby Boise State?)

Landucci believes the customer bases will be different.

Paddles Up on 9th Street caters to a downtown business clientele, he says. But The Warehouse Food Hall? It’s a destination.

“If you’re going to go downtown to eat, that’s one thing,” Landucci says. “But if you’re going to The Warehouse, especially once the movie theater opens, you’re going to find something else even if you’re craving poke, right? There’s so many good options there. You’re not going to walk (to the restaurant).”

In the coming months, BoDo Cinema plans to open in the former Regal Edwards multiplex space at 760 W. Broad St. The boutique theater will be connected to The Warehouse Food Hall, and patrons will be able to access it from inside The Warehouse.

Paddles Up Poke on 9th Street already is busy, Landucci says, so opening in The Warehouse might help shorten those lines during peak times. But, mostly, The Warehouse is an opportunity to serve poke (pronounced Poh-KAY) to more customers.

“I think this one caters to people coming to downtown from outside the Boise area,” he says, “not for work, just for fun — more of a tourist destination.”

“I’ve been kind of passionate about this project and wanting something like this to open for a long time,” Landucci adds, “so I definitely wanted to be a part of it.”

The 29,000-square-foot Warehouse is open from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Some vendors open even earlier, such as Caffe D’arte, Rush Bowls, Waffle Love and Gaston’s Bakery.

Online: warehousefoodhall.com.