This restaurant brought a new pizza style to Boise. It’s closing with a ‘bang’

When Spitfire Craft Pizza & Pints opened in 2018, it brought a twist on a favorite that was new to most Boiseans.

But it didn’t take long for customers to warm up to the restaurant’s Detroit-style pizza. Baked in deep, rectangular pans, the hefty pies won over Idahoans with thick, airy crusts and oceans of red sauce ladled on top.

But this week, the ovens will be turned off permanently. Spitfire Craft Pizza & Pints, 2450 S. Vista Ave., is shuttering, it announced on social media.

“We appreciate the seven years in business, the customers, employees and friends we have made,” Spitfire wrote on Facebook. “We are excited to have introduced Detroit style pizza to Boise and the Treasure Valley. We enjoyed making pizza, pouring beer and talking beer.

“But this chapter is ending this week when we run out of supplies. Join us for beer specials (help us kill the kegs with $5 drafts!), pizza specials, a party and a good time! Please help us close out our final few days with a bang!”

The reason for closing boiled down to two things, owner Rich Nichols said in a phone interview: finances and health.

The past year brought a downturn in business, he said. “And then on top of that, in April, I had a heart attack,” Nichols said. “Since I’ve been out of the hospital, I’ve been trying to balance getting back into work and just my health. And sometimes it comes down to one or the other.”

In the years since Spitfire debuted, Detroit-style pizza has become more common, both in Idaho and nationwide.

“That’s just the nature of the business,” Nichols said.

Ubiquitous chains such as Detroit-born Little Caesars have unveiled their own spin on the style. Nevada-based Longboards Pizza has moved into the Treasure Valley offering it. And growing California chain Slice House by Tony Gemignani definitely will serve Detroit-style pizza when it opens a Meridian restaurant — the first of up to three planned in Idaho.

This story was originally published August 11, 2025 at 11:25 AM.

Michael Deeds

Idaho Statesman

208-377-6407

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.