Boise restaurant? Closed. Nampa’s? Burned. Now this ex-local chain is coming home
A Mexican restaurant with more than three decades of Treasure Valley history is buying a round of tequila shots.
OK, not literally.
But El Tenampa definitely is in a festive mood.
After dwindling to a single Meridian store over the past five years, the former local chain is returning to where it all started: Nampa.
Construction is slated to begin April 20 on a new restaurant at 248 Caldwell Blvd. That’s where El Tenampa’s original restaurant closed in 2021 after a fire destroyed the building.
“Nampa, we’re coming home,” the restaurant announced recently on social media, along with a logo touting “since 1993.”
“It’s been a journey,” the post read, “we’re ready, and we’re excited to serve Nampa again in our beautiful new building.”
So when might Idahoans enjoy tacos and margaritas in their shiny new grill and cantina? Good question. A target opening date was not immediately available. El Tenampa owner Oskar Pedraza did not respond to messages.
When it does happen, the grand opening might feel like a triumph.
After a blaze ended El Tenampa’s original run in Nampa, it was the start of a rough patch. Four years later, El Tenampa at the Boise Spectrum — opened in 2017 — was shuttered to make way for a planned Chick-fil-A. But the chicken chain wound up reversing course. The building and property now are for sale.
El Tenampa continues to operate a restaurant at 906 N. Main St. in Meridian. But in a 2025 phone interview, Pedraza said that his intent was always to return to Nampa and rebuild. “The Nampa one was the first one in my family,” he said.
“That store was there many, many years,” he explained. “A whole new buildout on that, it’s going to be very, very cool.”
