‘Difficult to accept,’ this Boise restaurant will close after more than 50 years

A longtime Boise restaurant and community gathering place soon will be a memory to generations of Idaho natives.

Mandarin Palace, 5020 W. Franklin Road, plans to close its doors July 3. Located in the same parking lot as a Fred Meyer, the familiar business has served customers for decades — more than 50 years, according to Mandarin Palace’s website.

In a “heartfelt farewell” from “Wendy and Yifu, the owners,” a message explained the situation:

“The reason for closing is that the building’s owner has decided not to renew our lease. While this decision is difficult for us to accept, we’re grateful for the memories we’ve helped to create and for the support of everyone.

“We also want to wish the new landlord the best of luck as they take on the business. The restaurant may not be called Mandarin Palace in the future, but we hope that it continues to bring happiness and food for the community to enjoy.

“We want to thank each and every one of you for your support throughout the years under our ownership. Thank you for the support and for allowing us to serve the community for over 20 wonderful years!”

Idaho Statesman archives show that Mandarin Palace was a meeting place in the 1990s for local events such as the Full Gospel Businessmen Luncheon and Boise Noon Optimists. In 2010, The Peace in Jesus Lutheran Church worshiped there temporarily after its previous home, Vietnamese Restaurant, was destroyed by fire.

Mandarin Palace is rated 2.1 out of 5.0 stars on Yelp and 3.6 out of 5.0 on Google. The most recent Google review suggested that, “Time unfortunately has caught up to this place.”

Mandarin Palace’s demise follows the closure of another area Chinese restaurant with lots of memories. Golden Wok, a family-owned business at 3948 W. Chinden Blvd., shuttered in May. The restaurant had been in operation more than 27 years, according to a goodbye message from its owner on social media.

This story was originally published June 26, 2025 at 10:31 AM.

Michael Deeds

Idaho Statesman

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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.