POCATELLO — The popular Cafe Tuscano restaurant is spending up to $700,000 to remodel and remove the gas tanks and pumps at the site, which currently shares space with a gas station, according to restaurant co-owner Allyson Burnham.

Burnham, who owns the restaurant, located at 2231 E. Center St., with Bill Isley and Brad Frasure, said the move was prompted by the costs of providing the fuel service and the keeping up with the extensive regulations required to sell gasoline.

“We just decided that none of the three of us owners really enjoy having to constantly worry about gas and regulations and all that goes along with it,” said Burnham, who has co-owned the business with Isley and Frasure for 21 years.

Work is underway to remove the gas tanks and associated pipes, she said.

Well known late chef Robert Wiscombe was also a co-owner in the venture for a year and a half before passing away in 2013 at his daughter’s wedding.

Burnham says the business started out as a sandwich shop but they decided it wasn’t fun working with franchisees.

“So we shut it down and then the concept was born about running our own type of restaurant,” she said.

The three owners noted there are several new hotels in close vicinity of the nearby Interstate 15 Clark Street exit, and Cafe Tuscano and Jakers Bar and Grill are the only restaurants to serve them.

The move will provide 120 new parking spaces for guests, she said. She said the restaurant will be able to accommodate larger gatherings.

The project will also close the convenience store and use that space to expand Cafe Tuscano into a full-size bar and lounge with food service and tables, Burnham said. They are even considering serving breakfast there.

“You walk through this place and it’s like a city within a city,” she said. “When you’re in here you don’t worry about the hustle and bustle going on right outside the doors.”

She says they don’t event want it to appear like it was once a convenience store. She believes there will be plenty of customer traffic to support the changes.

She says Cafe Tuscano has been extremely busy since the COVID-19 pandemic began to wane.

“Our business has just been off the charts since January,” she said.

The three owners will be putting in a patio on the side of the building that will be covered with a roof and will have fans to keep the temperature comfortable.

She says the project should be finished within eight months to a year if there are no glitches.

Burnham said the pandemic was rough on restaurants, but business has been improving as more people get vaccinated.

“People are coming out and just enjoying dinner out instead of getting it to go,” Burnham said.

And the restaurant managed to keep much of its clientele of traveling businesswomen.

“Women are a huge and growing population of business travelers,” she said. “And we want a place that’s really comfortable for single women to come into.”

Further, they will create a chef table that’s nicely enclosed for wine tastings and other events.

“It will be called Rob’s Room,” Burnham said. “We’ve wanted for a long time to build a room and dedicate it to Rob.”

She says it’s also important that they managed to keep all of their staff of 25.

The restaurant is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Monday through Wednesday, and from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. On Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and from noon to 9 p.m. on Sundays.

“There’s more than enough need for dining not only locally but with all the people moving in and it’s just been a fantastic change in the year a half that we’ve been through with COVID,” Burnham said.