After 27 years, a well-loved Treasure Valley restaurant will close up shop for the last time at the end of February.
Gino’s Italian Ristorante, opened by Gino and Tia Vuolo, has been a community favorite since the couple set up shop in downtown Boise. The family moved the restaurant to Meridian in 2009. Gino died in 2022.
The restaurant announced the impending closure on its Facebook page on Wednesday, citing unfavorable economic conditions and rising costs that made it “no longer tenable to run a small business.”
“Due to the current economic conditions, it is no longer tenable to run a small business. As many of our fellow counterparts have been forced to close over rising costs, we must also do the same, however sad it may be,” the post said.
Gino’s General Manager Jimmy Gadson said said high cost of labor, particularly when it came to hiring chefs, was a large factor in the closure. Gadson said the decision to close was made after six months of consideration and after he and Tia invested a “fair amount” of personal money to keep the restaurant afloat.
“I know that it’s certainly not what Gino would have wanted for his widow,” Gadson said.
Those wishing to get a final taste of the restaurant’s southern Italian cuisine will have a chance. Gino’s will be open with a rotating menu on Fridays and Saturdays in January and February for reservations only. Gadson said reservations are best made by messaging the restaurant on Facebook and a rotating menu will be posted on Wednesdays. The menu will feature items selected from past menu editions.
The restaurant will be open around the holidays, with no reservation required, on Dec. 22-23 and Dec. 27-30 from 4:00-9:30 p.m.
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