Boise, Idaho: a diamond in the rough

Nation's Restaurant News, July 30, 1990 by Alan Liddle

BOISE, IDAHO: A diamond in the rough

After spending years in an economic slump, the Gem State's capital city is making an impressive turnaround -- and both local and national operators are noticing BOISE, Idaho -- Growing prosperity here, in the capital of "The Gem State," is revitalizing the established restaurant industry and giving innovative newcomers the time they need to establish a critical mass of customers, operators say.

On the down side, some restaurateurs noted, impressive growth among the region's retailers has resulted in a flood of new outlets that have all but drained the local labor pool. What's more, they added, the strength of the economy is attracting strong multi-regional and national chains.

"Within the last one and a half to two years the economy has really shown a strong increase," observed Jim Armstrong, vice president and general manager of Ole International Foods Inc. of Boise.

Ole International, which claims two of Boise's highest-volume restaurants in its stable of four Cafe Ole Restaurant & Cantina units, expects 1990 sales of about $4.7 million.

Jim Parkinson, president and co-owner of eight-unit Sandpiper Restaurants Inc., a Boise-based dinner-house chain, concurred, adding that the economic upswing was overdue.

"The downtown had been in the doldrums for too long," he said.

Revenues generated by eating and drinking establishments in Ada County, in which Boise is located, rose 12.6 percent, to $151 million, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1989, according to the Idaho Tax Commission. The growth rate is about double the estimated 1989 nationwide average for foodservice companies, the National Restaurant Association reported.

Over a five-year period, revenues reported by Ada County eating and drinking establishments grew by about 23.6 percent, Tax Commission records show. During that same time, however, revenues for eating and drinking establishments in other parts of the state grew by a much more modest average of 5.3 percent.

Boise Area Chamber of Commerce president Jay Clemens said the area has seen its retail space almost double since 1987, "and we've seen housing starts nearly double most months over the two- to three-year period preceding." The downtown, he said, is experiencing a "renaissance."

But growth often creates complications, and for Boise restaurateurs the most undesirable side effect has involved the labor force.

"When it's booming, people don't want entry level jobs," complained Angell's Bar & Grill executive chef and limited partner Jack Chase. He said that finding people to wash dishes, bus tables or fill other non-skilled jobs is "a big challenge."

Angell's, which has been one of the city's most popular casual restaurants since 1981, should gross about $1.4 million in 1990, Chase said.

"I see wages going up rapidly," Ole International's Armstrong remarked. "You manage to get the people, but they don't flock in like they used to."

Armstrong said the cafes prepare foods from scratch daily and feature festive decors, moderate average tickets of about $6 at lunch and $13 at dinner and regular promotions, such as "Family Night," when children under 12 eat free if their parents buy two entrees.

Jeff Warren, general manager of the Piper Pub & Grill, which reported first-year sales of about $1.1 million for the 12 months ended in May, said he is getting decidedly younger job applicants these days.

"We've had an ad in the paper for seven days now advertising for `experienced' wait staff. Of the 70 applicants so far, about 90 percent were 19 and 20, and most of them will be going back to school when summer ends," he said.

Youthful employees, Warren said, are "easily motivated, but you have to watch them more closely. I'm having to train more now than at any other time in my 10 years in this business."

The Piper Pub & Grill, which is owned by Sandpiper Restaurants executives Jim and Vicki Parkinson and a number of limited partners, features an eclectic menu of moderately priced foods.

Boise Towne Square, the state's first major regional mall, has played a big part in the changing fortunes of Boise and Ada County.

The mall, which opened in the fall of 1988 and features about 1 million square feet of retail space, "brought Boise back as the dominant retail center for the state and created a lot of development around it," the Chamber of Commerce's Clemens said.

Ole International's Cafe Ole Restaurant & Cantina at the mall, which could do $2 million in sales this year, is considered by many local operators to be the area's highest-grossing restaurant. Yet those same operators also pointed out that a Chili's restaurant that opened across the street in April could soon be a contender for that title.

Though the new Chili's has done a healthy business, Armstrong said that the sales of Ole International's mall unit, after a brief dip, are actually up compared with last year's. "I was expecting it [decreasing or flat sales], but we haven't seen it," he said.

The arrival of Dallas-based Chili's underscores the fact that powerful multi-regional and national operators are moving into the area.