‘Jumping out of their boots,’ Boiseans are ‘hyped’ about this planned restaurant
It doesn’t matter whether it’s a staffer at the cozy cafe around the corner, or a curious passerby ducking a head through the door to ask about demolition.
Reaction tends to be the same, Frank Adams says.
When he informs Idahoans that the former Alia’s Coffeehouse at 908 W. Main St. is being transformed into a full-service Thai restaurant — a second Boise Thai Noodle House — “they’re just jumping out of their boots,” he says.
“One potential customer said, ‘This is the best possible outcome for this place.’ They were just elated.”
It’s easy to understand why. Boise Thai Noodle House, which Adams opened in 2021 with his wife, Pisutkan, who grew up in Thailand, has become an unequivocal success at 12375 W. Chinden Blvd. Powered by glowing reviews, it rates 4.6 out of 5 stars on Google and 4.5 out of 5 on Yelp.
Equally important — if not more so — there’s a void to fill. Downtown Boise hasn’t had a full-service Thai restaurant for two years. Longtime Idaho Street staple Mai Thai was forced out of its building in late 2023 and is now part of West End Food Co at 1744 W. Main St., offering only pick-up and delivery.
“We just had so many people asking us, ‘Hey, are you guys coming downtown?’“ Adams says. “ Because they have to travel a long way all the way from east Boise to come to west Boise. So now it’s going to be a great opportunity for them.
“ I just thought it would be a perfect fit.”
The former coffee-and-bagel destination will require a full remodel to become a restaurant. That means the timeline to open the second Boise Thai Noodle House will be around May 1 of next year, Adams hopes.
The overall concept will be the same as the original restaurant, which is “real trendy. It’s real modern,” Adams says. “It’s very clean. Bathrooms are immaculate. We always get compliments on that. So we’re going to go the same route downtown. We’re going to be trendy but modern. It’s going to be awesome.”
One key difference? The kitchen will be larger and outfitted with a bigger hood, Adams says.
That means the menu will be more extensive.
“We’ll be able to have more fryers to have different options,” he says. “We’re having more woks. Everything’s more. We’ll be able to do more things.”
This isn’t the first time Boise Thai Noodle House dipped a toe into downtown. The brand operated a Downtown Express location for about 16 months at West End Food Co, Adams says, before exiting toward the end of summer.
But a full-service restaurant? That will take things to a whole different level downtown. Best of all? Having so many Boiseans enthusiastic about the plan makes the entire process taste that much sweeter.
“It just makes me feel good,” Adams admits. “And they’re all saying that. Even the owners of the building, when we put our application … it was a snap call for them. They know about our restaurant. They were like, ‘Heck, yeah, this would be a great place for a Thai restaurant.’ People are just super hyped about it right now.”
This story was originally published November 11, 2025 at 4:00 AM.