‘By far the best Chinese in the valley,’ longtime Boise restaurant closes: ‘So sorry’
When it comes to Chinese food in the Treasure Valley, consensus tends to be that it’s not exactly mind-blowing.
Still, there are unassuming favorites. Places that are affordable. Crowd-pleasing. Maybe even special.
Guang Zhou, 7609 W. Overland Road, arguably was one of those — but no more.
The local restaurant at the Boise Spectrum has been sold and closed, Guang Zhou posted on Facebook.
“Thank you everyone for your patronage over the last 20 years. ... The location has new owners and will become a different restaurant soon. We are so sorry for the sad news.”
With ratings of 4.0 out of 5.0 stars on Yelp and 4.2 out of 5.0 on Google, Guang Zhou had its share of enthusiastic fans.
“Good luck finding a better spot for Chinese food! Guang Zhou is top notch,” a Yelp Elite reviewer wrote in September.
“By far the best Chinese in the valley,” a Google Local Guide declared weeks ago.
A Thai restaurant is slated to take over the former Guang Zhou spot, according to a representative of D.D. Dunlap Companies, which owns the Boise Spectrum. Depending on city approvals and permitting, it could open before the end of 2023.
Although Guang Zhou thanked customers for two decades of support, it wasn’t always in that space — or under that name.
On the “From the Business” part of its Yelp page, Guang Zhou explained that it was “established” in 2002.
“The owners come from a small village near Guang Zhou, China, and have been cooking in restaurants for over 20 years,” it says. “The owners worked at the Boise Towne Square location originally called Yen Ching. They purchased that location and renamed it Yang Sheng. That location closed so PetSmart could move in. Guang Zhou has been open since 2009.”
