BOISE CITY, Okla. — Something so Idaho isn't going to be so Idaho anymore. The familiar Merritt's Family Restaurant sign on State Street is officially gone.
Merritt's is a well-known restaurant that's been on State Street for 50 years - along with the large red, white and blue sign that sat along the street on two poles.
"It's the only place I know you can get this kind of a scone," Don McEldowney told KTVB. "We have a family group that meets here on Tuesday mornings and Friday mornings. It'll go anywhere from three people to 15 or 20 people."
Monday morning a crew took down the sign in preparation of an Ada Count Highway District's expansion project on State Street approaching. The agency covered the cost to remove 19 business signs in the project's area.
The project includes widen the road by about 18-feet on each side. The business signs were all sitting where the road will widen.
The widening of the road will also take away room in some businesses parking lots, like Merritt's.
The Metro Express Car Wash had their sign removed Monday, they told KTVB.
Longtime customers of Merritt's watched both inside and outside the restaurant as the sign came down.
"She didn't want to give it up at first, but she come down good, and they saved her." the owner of Merritt's told KTVB. "I'm sure if the family was here, it would have been harder. It was still a little tough for me."
The sign had been on the poles for 100 years, the painted name on it has changed time to time. But for half a century it's had Merritt's written on it.
"Sad" is how McEldowney described the change.
"It's been here a long time, too," he added. "Back from when it was Yatesville, it had other names in the past."
Alan Jung has been eating at Merritts since 1986, he said.
"It's a landmark, that's a landmark," Jung said about the sign. "I like three things about Merritt's ... one is their senior discount, two is they charge extra for decaf coffee... and three, was the sign."
Without the sign there Jung said he almost drove right past the restaurant.
Does the sign have a new home?
The sign has made its way to Merritt's nephews home on Highway 55. He lives in between Eagle and Avimor. He will have the sign on a trailer in his field that will be visible from the road.
When will construction begins for the project?
ACHD plans to keep two lanes in each direction open during the project, Rachel Bjornestad, public information officer for ACHD said. She said the project hasn't gone out to bid yet to dates for construction haven't been finalized yet, but they expect to start work in January 2025.
Will the Merritt's sign go back up?
The Merritt's sign is no longer up to Boise City Code, according to Lindsay Moser, public engagement senior manager at the city of Boise.
Moser said the sign was "grandfathered in" while still standing, but once it came down it's not allowed to go back up per city code.
Is ACHD also paying to replace the signs?
Bjornestad said conversations about sign replacements take place between ACHD and the businesses. ACHD has a department that reviews what is possible for the situation.
She couldn't speak directly to the Merritt's sign because she said conversations are still taking place.
At this time, since all the signs haven't been removed yet, she couldn't share how much they will spend on removing signs.