Boise’s BACON supports a children’s home through COVID-19

by Lex Nelson

John and Gibson Berryhill, co-owners of the Boise brunch restaurant BACON, make all of their best business decisions in the hot tub.

The father-son duo created their nonprofit, BACON for Hope, in hot water in 2019.

They got inspired to sell bags of their famous “Berryhill bacon” online after a long soak in 2020.

And they retreated to the hot tub when COVID-19 lockdowns hit Boise. Steeping under the Idaho stars, they came up with a plan: No matter what happened with COVID-19 restrictions, they’d make sure their team had work to do and paychecks on the way.

“We remodeled this whole area,” Gibson said, gesturing to the restaurant’s shining counter, “bacon walk” leading up to it, and back room fulfillment center. “... [The team was] in here painting this, in here the whole time. [My dad] was finding every ounce of work he could get them in here to do.”

Chef and co-owner John Berryhill runs BACON with the motto “people over profit.” He operated the fine-dining Berryhill Restaurant in Boise for 22 years, and cooked his first strip of iconic “Berryhill bacon” there in 1995. In 2011, that strip of bacon became BACON the restaurant. Gibson joined him in 2020 and brought the nonprofit BACON for Hope with him.

BACON for Hope benefits Hope House, a children’s home and school south of Marsing that takes in kids from failed adoptions and dysfunctional families. Gibson, a basketball player, first met the kids during a freshman basketball camp at College of Idaho. He felt “instantly emotionally connected” to the cause.

Today, BACON puts roughly 2% of its gross revenue into projects at the Hope House. That money has funded community events; built a basketball court; upgraded an unusable track and field; and will soon fund a solar farm to offset the house’s power bills.

During COVID-19 when slim profit margins got slimmer, BACON for Hope continued to help Hope House. The Berryhills made trips to Marsing in person to walk the under-construction track and deliver batches of cinnamon rolls to the kids. As we write this, Gibson is eager to return for their first in-person basketball camp since 2020.

“If I keep talking about it, I’ll cry,” John said during our interview.

The Berryhills bring the same spirit of giving into their restaurant. John often leaves the kitchen to sit with tables of regulars, share a hug, and check in.

“There is a long line of people that have special needs that come in here, and our wall is just full of hand-written notes to John,” Gibson said, adding that his dad provides the same wisdom and advice to his staff. “...The biggest non-profit social work that we do is just the day to day of running this business, where [we] genuinely care for everybody outside of how well they make an omelet and how well they run food and care for guests.”

Asked to describe what BACON means to him, Kitchen Manager Phill Peugh wrote, “if I had to choose, it means family because that’s what it has done for me and my life.”

Peugh has worked side-by-side with John for 14 years. Franceine Ihm, BACON’s general manager, has also been with the Berryhills for a decade.

"I am the leader I am today because of the people that work with me every day, from the dishwasher, to the prep cooks, to the host. BACON has taught me who I truly am and opened my eyes to see that it is the interactions that I have every day, whether with staff or guests, that make me better,” she wrote, adding, “... I’m not great at everything, but with everyone, WE are great!"

Whatever happens in the fallout of COVID-19, the BACON team will have each other — and the hot tub.

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