Co-Owner of State and Lemp Is Now Running One of Southwest Boise’s Oldest Pubs – Here’s Why
By Ash Golangco
Photo courtesy of Guy Hand
Jay Henry, co-owner of now-sold State and Lemp, has been in the restaurant industry since 1989 – after he helped establish the fine dining concept that helped bring nationwide attention to Boise’s food scene, it won’t surprise you that Jay bought and is currently managing another food/drink business.
However, it might surprise you that it’s situated along Five Mile and Overland, with nearly no other bars or pubs in the area – known as one of Southwest Boise’s oldest bars, it’s called Hooligan’s Pub, operating since 1983.
Jay’s restaurateur experience is vast; Hooligan’s is Jay’s 14th project that he’s done in his career. With success as big as State and Lemp, one would imagine that he could have decided to open anything.
So, why Hooligan’s in particular? To get there, Jay helped explain his journey to me – from his first landing to Boise to today.
The State and Lemp Story
“[State and Lemp] was one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done,” Jay shared over a phone interview.* After his decades of experience – including operating multiple concepts and opens based out of Colorado – that was saying a lot.
Jay moved to Boise from Colorado in 2006. He met his future State and Lemp partner, Remi McManus, while he was the general manager of a restaurant in Eagle with a farm-to-table tasting menu. Jay landed a job in Remi’s restaurant, but, during the economic crash of 2008, they found themselves both unemployed.
“I was interested in an underground restaurant. [Of course,] none of us had any money.” But things evolved and changed when Remi and Jay teamed up. For two years, they strategized the finances for the business before looking for a location – amazingly, they discovered the perfect location on the first day they started their search. “It felt meant to be.”
While doing the construction and remodeling themselves, Kris Komori walked into the door: A future twice-James Beard nominee that, Jay enthused, “changed the whole idea of what we were trying to do, and made it more modern – which was exactly what it needed to be.” The rest was history.
The Shift to Hooligan’s Pub
Photo courtesy of Guy Hand
With a 6 to 8 course menu that changed every several weeks, State and Lemp was intense, high-pressure work, even though the concept was very successful. When they sold the restaurant in 2018, Jay assumed that he was going to have a pleasant six month break before diving into a new project. Then, fate called again.
When Jay first moved to Boise in 2006, he applied for a liquor license (required to own a business that sells any kind of alcohol). The waitlist is so long, with a limited time frame for accepting and moving forward with the license, that it wasn’t until after selling State and Lemp did Jay finally get approved. “My 6 month break turned into a 6 week break,” Jay said humorously.
Immediately, Jay had to figure out a way to utilize his license so he could keep it. “That’s how we found Hooligan’s.” Not unlike when Remi and Jay found the State and Lemp location waiting for them with Kris soon after walking through the door, Jay had a familiar feeling. “My intuition was that this place had been waiting for us.”
New Energy, Same Good Folks
After purchasing, Jay and his team replaced Hooligan’s previous kitchen (a hot plate and microwave) with a much higher quality, commercial kitchen to prepare their fresh menu items in. Once a beer-only bar, Hooligan’s Pub now includes a full menu and spirits. The philosophy at State & Lemp has carried over in many ways: The food is always fresh and mainly local.
Photo courtesy of Guy Hand
As many business owners know, it’s expensive to buy everything local – at Hooligan’s lower price point, they can’t buy 100% local, but they are committed to using local beef and ACME bread products, for example.
The new energy at Hooligan’s Pub is noticeable for locals: For one, there’s no other local-friendly neighborhood pubs near Hooligan’s. “It’s a very underserved neighborhood,” Jay explained. That’s why serving Southwest Boise residents has been one of the best parts of the change. “It’s been nice to have such a [great] reception from a neighborhood that, quite frankly, we didn’t know much about.”
They’ve also successfully transformed the bar to be more welcoming for customers – no matter their gender. “You rarely saw women in here before, at least on a regular basis. Now, at least half of our clientele are women.” You may even see families come in for their fresh, affordable menu!
I asked Jay what’s been his secret to surviving during the pandemic, and he said it’s all about taking care of your staff. Worker shortages, not necessarily lockdowns, have caused many restaurants to close, or operate under the stress of being understaffed. At Hooligan’s Pub, Jay is proud to say that they’re fully staffed. Finding creative ways to incentivise staff – from closing the restaurant for holidays, having group gatherings outside of work, providing flexible scheduling – has been crucial for keeping his team happy.
If you live in Southwest Boise, come on in and see how Hooligan’s Pub has been reinvented; The menu and new atmosphere just might make you want to bring a friend, or even the whole family.
