Restoration of historic business leads to Collet’s being honored

What was once a prohibition-era pool hall is finding new life as a social gathering place.

Senator Jim Risch recently named Collet’s Pub in Firth as the Idaho Small Business of the Month for January 2024.

Collet’s initially opened as a pool hall in 1930 by Grant Collet amid prohibition. He passed the business onto his son Sam, it then eventually went to Grant’s grandson Donny, who ran it for two decades. After prohibition, it became Collet’s Bar until its closure in 2020.

When Brian and Holly Johnson purchased the building with partners in April 2022, they had a vision to bring Collet’s back to life. They went right to work.

“Throughout the years, it was the place to go,” Holly said. “There was nothing better than the Collet burger! Many people have fond memories of going there in high school to grab a burger for lunch.”

The building, which was built in 1918, was rundown and in need of some significant repairs, starting first with a new roof.

“Collet’s is only a small part of the building but we wanted to get it up and running as soon as possible,” Holly explained. “The first order of business was cleaning. It had been a smoking establishment since 1930 and we were opening as a non-smoking restaurant. The walls had to be cleaned at least three times and the dim lights replaced with brighter ones.”

But because the nostalgia of Collet’s is so important, the team wanted to make sure they kept as much of it as original as possible.

“Since Prohibition, Collet’s Pub has been a gathering place for eastern Idaho,” Risch said in a press release. “With its notable teal sign, Firth’s only dining establishment continues to entertain customers of all ages with good food, burgers and karaoke. Owners Holly and Brian Johnson brought Collet’s back to life after much needed repairs, while maintaining original engravings etched into the bar by the former owner.”

Once restoration started, the team exposed the original floor and poured a clearcoat to preserve the carvings on the old wooden bar top.

“So many people come in to find their family brand or carvings made years ago in the wood,” Holly said.

They also put new flooring behind and under the bar, replaced coolers, exposed the transom to let in more light, and remodeled the bathrooms with a nostalgic twist.

“Since Collet’s was the first Budweiser account in Idaho, we used Anheuser-Busch kegs to make the urinals,” Holly said. “It’s been a lot of fun watching people’s reaction if they’ve never seen them before!”

The newly improved Collet’s opened in September 2022 with five employees. Today, the business employs nine people and the community is rallying behind them.

“We are still getting amazing support from not only locals, but people from the surrounding area ― many who simply want to sing karaoke, play trivia, pool, shuffleboard or darts and hang out in a non-smoking establishment,” Holly said.

Building on the wonderful history of Collets, the future is nothing but bright.

“We’re still doing small things to spruce the place up, but no major renovation is in the works yet,” Holly shared. “It may never be. There’s something to be said about walking into a place and being taken back 50 years. We hear so often, ‘thank you for doing this,’ and ‘thanks for giving us a place to meet.’”

Holly pointed out Collet’s deep roots in the community and the pleasure and honor they have had in restoring it.

“We have been so humbled by all the response and congratulations received by being named Idaho Small Business of the Month for January,” she said.