Chinese restaurants keep closing in the Boise area. This one served since 1982
It’s not always the same style of Chinese restaurant.
And the cause of death? Not always alike.
But for whatever the reason, a barrage of Chinese restaurant closures has struck the Boise area in 2025. And with the year almost over, the bad-omen fortune cookies keep coming.
The latest goodbye: Shanghai Restaurant, 332 Caldwell Blvd., in Nampa.
Although Google claims the closure was temporary, that hasn’t turned out to be the case. A “Shanghai Restaurant Liquidation” auction is scheduled online Dec. 12-22, with an open-house preview from noon to 4 p.m. Dec. 19 at the restaurant. To add finality, Shanghai’s (extremely) longtime phone number doesn’t work anymore.
No reason for Shanghai Restaurant’s permanent demise was immediately available. But its absence will be felt, despite less-than-exceptional Yelp and Google review ratings of 2.7 and 3.5 stars, respectively. The building, with its “buffet and family dining” sign, has been a familiar sight for decades. Although it’s been quiet since 2022, Shanghai’s Facebook page describes the business as a “family restaurant serving the Nampa community since 1982.”
To put that into perspective, Shanghai had fed Canyon County since the year Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger” was in the top 40. Not to mention the novelty song “Pac-Man Fever.”
In case you aren’t up to date regarding recent Chinese restaurant closures in the Treasure Valley, here are others:
- An anchor of the BoDo district in downtown Boise, chain restaurant P.F. Chang’s closed in October after 20 years.
- Hong Kong Restaurant said goodbye in September “after 63 wonderful years” in downtown Nampa, it wrote on social media.
- Great Wall, 10398 Overland Road in Boise, closed at the end of August after the restaurant’s lease was not renewed. Opened in 1980, it went on to become Idaho’s first Chinese buffet.
- After 17 years, Lucky Palace, 8630 W. Overland Road, shuttered near the end of August after its owner said he was not provided an opportunity to renew the lease.
- Mandarin Palace, 5020 W. Franklin Road, went dark in July after operating for more than 50 years. That also was a lease non-renewal situation, its owners wrote on social media.
- Golden Wok, a family-owned business at 3948 W. Chinden Blvd. in Garden City, shuttered in May. The restaurant had been in operation more than 27 years. Although the restaurant remained busy until the end, its owner wanted to spend more time with family, he wrote on social media.