Restaurant News

This Boise restaurant closed after hundreds of rave reviews. It just found a new home

A much-loved Boise restaurant that shuttered in spring has found a new home.

Koco Bell Korean Street Food, which closed in May at 13601 W. McMillan Road, is heading east. Nearly in Meridian before, the restaurant now plans to open at 2999 N. LakeHarbor Lane. That’s minutes from downtown Boise, in the same building as Crunch Fitness — accessible from State Street.

The opening date hasn’t been announced, but Koco Bell says it’s coming “soon” on social media.

That’s tasty news for the local eatery’s passionate customers. During Koco Bell’s evolution — from a parking-lot food stand at Five Mile and Ustick roads to a small brick-and-mortar eatery opened in 2021 — it garnered exceptionally positive feedback.

Owners Jaikoo “Steve” Kang and his wife, Mariela, built their diehard fan base by dishing up authentic Korean and fusion food: kimbap, bulgogi burritos, barbecue boxes and — as I can personally attest — rich, tasty Korean corn dogs.

Koco Bell has earned a nearly perfect 4.9 out of 5.0 stars from 220 Google reviews. That’s pretty much insane. It’s also racked up an exceptional 4.8 out of 5.0 from 98 reviews on Yelp.

Announcing the closure, the Kangs posted on Koco Bell’s Instagram page that they wanted to “open up another location that is much bigger, and we plan to serve all sorts of Korean food.”

Bring it on. Excited stomachs are growling.

Koco Bell specializes in Korean cuisine.
Koco Bell specializes in Korean cuisine. Koco Bell/Facebook

This story was originally published July 8, 2024 at 4:00 AM.

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Michael Deeds
Idaho Statesman
Michael Deeds is a long-serving entertainment reporter and opinion columnist at the Idaho Statesman, where he chronicles the Boise good life: restaurants, concerts, culture, cool stuff. He started as a summer intern after graduating from the University of Nebraska with a news-editorial journalism degree. Deeds’ prior Statesman roles have included sportswriter, music critic and features editor. His other writing has ranged from freelancing album reviews for The Washington Post to bragging about Boise in that inflight magazine you left on the plane. 
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