It all started at 5th and Main

Has it really been 26 years since the Brick Oven Bistro opened its doors?  My, how time flies when you're having fun.

Those of you who have ever paused at the entrance to our restaurant have probably noticed some old black and white photos on the wall just as you walk in.  One of those photos is of our original location at 5th and Main (the current home of Addie's).  For those too young, or too recent, to recollect the story behind our relocation from there to our present site on The Grove at 8th and Main (what a difference three blocks can make!), it is a story worth re-telling.

It was only about five years after opening our doors that we realized we would need more space (we thank our customers for that necessity), and we began looking for a new location.  As ideal as our current location may seem today, since we like to think of The Grove as the beating heart of downtown Boise, it was a very different sort of scene back in the late '80s.  The Grove was quiet.  I remember as we were building our new restaurant, looking across the “plaza” that no one was walking by, or around...and the thought came to me, what were we thinking?  There was no hotel and few events at the convention center in those days, so everyone from the banks walked out the door and toward other parts of town.  It was a bit daunting to say the least!  I remember years later talking to a friend from Argentina who arrived in Boise with her husband. She, like I, came from a country with plazas where people walked the plaza at night, where the plaza was the center of activity.  She recalls waking up on a Sunday at the current Hotel 43 – then the Statehouse Inn - and looking down at the “plaza” where nothing was moving.  She thought she had been brought to a wasteland!  She wasn't far wrong.

But we believed in the potential of The Grove, and more importantly of our downtown Boise core; so with the passion and optimism of yourth, we plunged boldly forward.  To commemorate our move, we decided that we wanted an event more unique than a ribbon cutting.  We decided on a "parade of chairs".  Gathering up our employees and 30 of our customers, we we congregated in the parking lot of the old restaurant and blew up balloons, tied them to the restaurant chairs and took off down Main Street.  It would be interesting to talk to John at Old Boise Music to see if he remembers us coming by his shop.  It was  festive, fun and lighthearted -- attributes that we like to think characterize all that we do at the Brick Oven Bistro to this day.

I'm happy to say that our optimism has been vindicated by the test of time.  We enjoy all the visitors that we get to engage with, and our location makes us feel as though we play the role of “Boise welcomers”.  The plaza has indeed become a  plaza, with families and individuals enjoying the quiet and all the falling water.  Children love the freedom of being able to wander to the water, feed the birds and ducks, while their parents appreciate a “fume-free”, safe, and comfortable spot to be.  We have helped enliven the plaza, bringing color, foliage and great food to the area – an added reason to walk around The Grove.  There is something about being in the center – for if you think of, it The Grove is indeed the center of downtown.  It has been a delightful space – away from the bustle of autos and trucks – an oasis in the centre of a metropolis.  And for us, it all started with a parade of chairs...and a leap of faith!  

The Grove has truly become an urban plaza

Monday, August 16, 2010 5:32:33 PM (Mountain Daylight Time, UTC-06:00)    Comments [0]