Space Reference

The building is about 95 years old with an Art Deco street façade left completely intact after the remodel. Inside: exposed historic brick runs the full dining room, leather upholstery, dark wood, and raised booths along two walls that create intimacy at scale. A wall of fire behind the open kitchen is the visual anchor. The private Havana Room opens off the oval bar. Carpeted floors kill echo — the room is quieter than its size suggests.

Downtown Boise's established fine dining benchmark — a five-course prix fixe experience with a separate speakeasy bar (Ampersand) that overlooks the city from the highest elevation bar in Idaho. KIN has built the reservation habit in Boise. The room runs smart and dressier than casual bistros nearby. Tagged Luxury, Fine Dining, and Romantic. The building is a modern ground-floor suite with city views — the architecture is a non-factor, but the operating model is essential context.

A 2025 opening in the former Jalapeño's space on Broadway. 1960s Hollywood theme: red velvet, dark wood, checkered kitchen floor, 90-seat oval bar, large-scale murals. The curtained wall booths in the main dining room create partial privacy without full enclosure. A back-alley speakeasy with midcentury modern design. The building itself is unremarkable; the ambiance is entirely constructed.

Boise's first omakase sushi counter, opened November 2025 in the North End near the Co-Op. The format: 10 bar seats, 6 reserved nightly for omakase. Small. Counter-forward. Chef-facing. The "upscale, yet approachable" language from the GM is almost exactly Byrd's target register. The building is a shopping center — the architecture is a non-factor — but the operating model and scale are directly relevant.

A two-block stretch of late 19th and early 20th century brick commercial buildings housing the Basque community's restaurants and cultural institutions for over a century. The architecture is honest: heavy masonry, deep window reveals, low floor plates, exposed original structure. Bar Gernika, the Basque Market, and Txikiteo operate here. The scale is human — tight rooms, close tables, warm din. Exactly the building stock Byrd wants.

The original commercial spine of downtown Boise. Idaho sandstone, brick, and carved stone — three- and four-story commercial blocks built between the 1880s and 1930s. High ceilings, thick walls, deep storefronts. The El Gaucho building at 610 W Idaho is one example. National Register status means exterior character is protected. Ground-floor commercial spaces here are the most architecturally compelling restaurant opportunities in Boise.

Boise's most active pedestrian dining street. The historic district encompasses commercial buildings from the late 1800s and early 1900s along 8th Street between Grove and Broad. The scale is tight — narrow storefronts, two- and three-story buildings — which creates the street-level intimacy that new development struggles to replicate. Weekend foot traffic is dense. The building typology is right; competition and noise are higher than Old Boise.

A two-block historic commercial district at the north end of 13th Street — one of the best-preserved early 20th century commercial streetscapes in Boise. One- and two-story brick commercial buildings with recessed entries, transom windows, and original storefronts. Village energy: independent shops, foot traffic from nearby residential blocks, strong local identity. The buildings are architecturally honest and small in scale.