Clock ticks at local Boise restaurant before chain demolishes it, another, to open there
A well-known local restaurant is on track to be turned to rubble at the Boise Spectrum.
But an even more familiar national chain plans to rise from its ashes.
Chick-fil-A has filed paperwork with the city of Boise seeking permission to build a new location at the site of El Tenampa Mexican restaurant, 7802 W. Spectrum St. The construction also would transform 1700 S. Entertainment Ave., where a former Johnny Carino’s shuttered in 2016 and has remained empty since.
Permitting remains for the Atlanta, Georgia-based chicken chain. But Chick-fil-A has signed a deal with property owner D.D. Dunlap, said Matt Schirmer, director of real estate.
“Our ground lease with Chick-fil-A is for both of those parcels,” Schirmer said, “as they’re going to scrape both of those buildings and build back one Chick-fil-A.”
The date El Tenampa will be forced to close isn’t clear, said owner Oskar Pedraza, who also operates a location at 906 N. Main St. in Meridian. Nevertheless, Pedraza said, “the days are numbered” at the Spectrum restaurant, which opened in 2017.
“I really thought I was going to be out by December,” he said. “But nothing. I guess we’ll see what happens. I’ll just ride it out.”
El Tenampa is on a month-to-month lease, Schirmer said. The goal is to provide 60 to 90 days notice, he added. “We want to give them adequate time to make arrangements,” Schirmer said. “Let staff know. All that stuff.”
The new Chick-fil-A would be 4,847 square feet with a drive-thru, according to a design review. The popular chain has Treasure Valley locations in Boise, Meridian and Nampa.
Despite El Tenampa’s impending doom in Boise, Pedraza said he’s excited about the Idaho brand’s future. “I think everything happens for a reason,” he said.
This spring, he hopes to break ground at 248 Caldwell Blvd. in Nampa. That’s the same spot his family opened the original El Tenampa restaurant in 1993. It closed in 2021 after a fire.
“The future we’re hoping for is … the new Nampa location,” Pedraza said. “Just a complete new build-out.”
This story was originally published February 12, 2025 at 4:26 PM.