Trading Spaces: Pop-up Edition

There’s a reason the phrase “too many cooks in the kitchen” exists—and there’s also a reason why some restaurateurs in Boise choose to ignore it. In a way, the pop-up restaurant model is the ultimate test of faith. It requires the owners of already-established eateries to open their doors and kitchens to outsiders, who then make culinary magic in borrowed spaces. But for pop-up hosts Rene Iwamasa, Dan Carruthers and Angel Moran of Zen Bento, Tasso and Guru Donuts respectively, the stress is worth it if they can give their fellow entrepreneurs a leg up.

“Starting out [like I did] as such a sidewalk-stand kind of a restaurant, you really feel for these people, these up-and-comers, and you want to help them out,” said Iwamasa, who hosts the late-night biscuits and gravy pop-up GravEyard at her downtown Boise Zen Bento.

For her, the make-or-break of hosting a pop-up is trust. Even though Zen Bento’s simple menu of rice bowls and salads means its kitchen doesn’t have many complex, pricy appliances to steal or damage, Iwamasa said she’d still worry about letting a stranger loose in her restaurant.

Luckily, GravEyard chef Zac Clark had earned her trust as a manager at Zen Bento by the time he pitched his pop-up idea. In October 2017, he took over the restaurant’s disused walk-up window to sling reimagined Southern fare from 9:30pm to 2:30am on weekends. The hours mean he and his fellow cook don’t start their prep until after Zen Bento closes for the night, and they have the kitchen back in ship-shape long before it reopens Monday morning.

“He’s got all of his systems so tight that it’s easy for him to set up and take down. He’s very efficient that way, so we’ve never had any issues,” Iwamasa said.

Like Iwamasa, Carruthers first opened his BoDo sandwich shop to the upscale dessert pop-up Figgy Bakes because he remembered being in her shoes. The U.S. Small Business Administration reports that about one in 12 small businesses close each year—a troubling statistic for restaurateurs looking to get their fledgling operations off the ground— and Carruthers is still keenly aware of the challenges after a long search for his own brick-and-mortar.

“Five years ago there wasn’t anyone who was going to give you a chance, or even rent you space in a kitchen or anything, you know? It was really, really difficult,” he said.