POCATELLO — Three restaurants that have collectively graced the Gate City for more than 140 years are embracing new beginnings following some big changes.

The owners of both Goody’s Deli & Pub and Buddy’s Italian have decided to retire and have sold the businesses and ButterBurr’s is preparing to move from its Yellowstone Avenue location to West Cedar Street in a building that has formerly housed two other restaurants.

The oldest eatery of the bunch, Buddy’s at 626 E. Lewis St., recently transferred hands from its former owner of 50 years Steve Piper to Jason Meador, the general manager for each of the Meador-owned Ford, Toyota and Subaru car dealerships in Pocatello.

Loren Villano, whose older brother Aaron founded Villano’s Italian restaurant with his wife Lisa, has been longtime friends with Meador and will manage Buddy’s, for a second time, moving forward.

‘I managed Buddy’s for just over six years about nine years ago,” Villano said. “And then I went and worked for Jason (Meador) over at Courtesy Ford for the past nine years. When he decided to buy it, he told me, ‘If I’m going to do it, I want you to run it for me.’”

Villano’s plans moving forward remain very much in line with how the longtime Pocatello restaurant has always operated. He has no intention of changing up the menu items or altering the ingredients for recipes that have been handed down for generations. He aims to ensure the restaurant continues to be a place where families can gather and is looking forward to adding more staff members to the 25 employees who currently work there.

“I’m not gonna mess with any of the recipes,” Villano said. “Things have been going strong for 61 years and there’s no reason for me to fix something that isn’t broken. I hope to bring a brighter atmosphere and make it a good place for everyone to come and enjoy themselves and enjoy the dining experience.”

Villano, whose go-to meal is the sausage sandwich with everything ($8.50), says he plans to preserve the history of Buddy’s and uphold the legacy that Piper and those before him worked to create.

“For Jason to come in and buy it and have me run it, I don’t think there was anything better for Buddy’s,” Villano said. “It’s an icon here in town and there will definitely be some pride that goes into maintaining the traditions.”

New owners are also settling in about a half-mile down the road at Goody’s. After operating the sub sandwich and pizza joint for over 40 years, Tom Goodwin has sold Goody’s, 905 S. Fifth Ave., to longtime Pocatello residents Carlos and Jessica Allen.

“Tom bought this place in 1982 and ran it for 40 years,” Carlos said. “He was ready to pass the torch on. He approached Jessica and I about buying it so we figured out the terms, everything worked out all right and we decided it was a good decision.”

Carlos said both he and his wife Jessica have been frequent customers of Goody’s for years. He remembers when Goody’s originated as a Blimpie and Mario’s Pizza before Goodwin decided to drop the franchises.

“We’re super excited and also super nervous about it,” Carlos said. “It’s a big endeavor but we feel like we are ready to take Goody’s to the next level.”

Carlos said he has no plans to play with the more than 40 sandwiches on the menu and will continue to bake the sandwich breads fresh daily. Eventually, the Allens said they may explore installing a commercial air fryer so they can add fries, wings and other fried food to the menu.

Much of the Allens’ focus will be central to the customer experience, including bringing in more regular entertainment and making it easier to order online.

“We want to increase the online and to-go ordering,” Carlos said. “Some people enjoy watching their sandwiches get made but others short on time would prefer to be able to come grab a meal and go. We are going to keep doing trivia nights, increase the number of band nights and want to provide an atmosphere that all walks of life can enjoy.”

Carlos said he also wants to form an even better connection with Idaho State University students and sports teams. In addition to catering for ISU athletes, he said he wants to see about being able to provide meals to the visiting teams.

His go-to sandwich is the Goody’s Club ($6.49) while Jessica’s is the Goody’s Best ($6.49). His go-to pizza bomb is Tom’s Choice ($6.89) and Jessica’s is the Western ($6.89).

Carlos said what separates Goody’s from the competition is the portions.

“At Goody’s, we put about twice as much meat on every sandwich as our competitors,” he said. “That’s 4.5 ounces of meat and 2 ounces of cheese per sandwich. We have 40-plus sandwiches but you can still customize everything you want. None of it is processed and frozen. It’s all cut right off the block. You don’t see that everywhere else.”

Another defining quality of Goody’s is the affordable price. Carlos said the eatery will remain focused on providing customers with more bang for their buck, but it “may be that we have to increase costs with inflation.”

Carlos said he wanted to give the restaurant’s 27 employees a huge shout out for helping with the transition.

“They have been phenomenal,” he said. “Jessica worked at Mama Inez for almost 15 years and managed a few more after that and I was in the beer industry for a while but we knew nothing about making sandwiches and pizzas. The employees have helped out tremendously.”

A grand reopening party at Goody’s with some complimentary food will start at 12:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 9.

ButterBurr’s, yet another restaurant with a history spanning more than 40 years in the Gate City, is moving locations to the building that once housed Remo’s and then Senor Garcia’s Puerto Vallarta, which recently moved into the former Perkins building on Pocatello Creek Road.

The building with the recognizable castle towers on West Cedar Street will be the new home for the ButterBurr’s near Walgreens on Yellowstone Avenue, though the ButterBurr’s Lickety Split location a few blocks away on Yellowstone will remain, says Brittany Dahlquist, the daughter of the restaurant’s founders, Kelly and Sheryl Dahlquist, and the general manager for the past 15 years.

“My parents always had a triple-net lease, meaning they pay taxes, interior and exterior maintenance and rent on the building we’re in now,” she said.” We are buying the old Remo’s building. We will be doing everything we have already been doing but eventually pay it off in 20 years, so it made sense for us.”

First opened in 1981, ButterBurr’s got its name from Kelly, Dahlquist’s late father, who was a huge fan of the J.R.R. Tolkien “The Hobbit” books, she said.

“There was a guy in the book that took care of the inn, the Prancing Pony, and his name was Barliman Butterbur,” Dahlquist said. “He was a human, but we actually sort of turned him into a Hobbit for the restaurant.”

Dahlquist said the plan is to close down the ButterBurr’s location near Walgreens toward the end of the month, with a reopening date at the new location set for Nov. 1.

“We had a bit of trouble getting everything lined up but I think we are on track now,” Dahlquist said. “I think everybody is really excited about the move and the new space.”

Dahlquist said the new location comes with outdoor seating options, an increase in interior space and a parking lot that is a little less cumbersome to navigate, especially for those who come from out of town and are unfamiliar with the area.

“Parking can be a nightmare sometimes where we are at now,” she said. “The new location is definitely easier to get in and out of.”

The new location also comes with a liquor license, and Dahlquist said they plan to slowly incorporate spirits and other alcoholic options.

“We want to be able to provide those options for the people that enjoy it and also make sure we’re still that hometown favorite for families,” she said.

ButterBurr’s currently employs 80 people, Dahquist said, with many part-time high school and college students and about 20 full-time employees.

“We have a lot of schedules to work around so we have to maintain a decent number of employees,” Dahlquist said. “I think that’s why we maintain our employees for so long.”

Dahlquist is excited for customers to be able to continue sitting down to enjoy her restaurant’s popular chicken fried steak, homemade breads and pies and signature soups and sandwiches, just in a new location.

“It’s a big change for us and we’re looking forward to it,” she said. “It’s the same ButterBurr’s everyone has come to know and love, just in a new space.”