‘I put a lot of heart into it’: With final restaurant closing, this Boise brand vanishes

When An Nguyen expanded his 208 Pho & Vegan concept to a second location right after the pandemic started, he knew it might be a challenge.

“I’m a Titanic captain, you know,” he joked at the time.

Less than three years later, he’s letting the ship sink.

208 Pho & Vegan, 8675 W. Franklin Road, will close after a final day Saturday. Nguyen is shuttering the Vietnamese eatery after a run of about 2 1/2 years. A challenging economy and other factors hurt business, he said.

The closure means that 208 Pho & Vegan no longer exists in Boise. The original restaurant at 812 W. Fort St. — opened in 2016 — is now owned by Nguyen’s younger sister, he said. Its name was changed to Pho Real earlier this year.

“I’m sad,” Nguyen admitted about the Franklin Road closure. “A lot of the employees and consumers, they ... know me. My heart is tied to my employees and consumers. Everything I do, I put a lot of heart into it. That sometimes is (a) problem, you know? You put too much feeling into your business.”

A real estate agent for nearly two decades, Nguyen said, he’s already hunting for another restaurant space in a different Boise location — with a modified 208 Pho & Vegan concept in mind.

“This time I’m going all the way to vegan-only,” he said. “All Vietnamese vegan. It’s going to become an exclusive in town.

“I have a couple spots that I’m looking at. I see the demand.”

Operating his previous restaurants taught him that a 100% vegan menu has potential, he said.

It’s one of the silver linings about the Franklin Road closure.

“(There’s) some good stuff I learned through the economy and the COVID situation,” Nguyen added.