DOWNTOWN BOISE, Idaho — Boise is home to lots of iconic neon signs, from the glow of taverns and saloons along Main Street to the Open Air Neon Gallery on Grove Street.
For years, the vast majority of the neon signs across the Treasure Valley were restored, repaired or maintained by Wil Kirkman, the longtime owner of Rocket Neon. But after Kirkman passed away last year, the future of the shop — and many of the valley’s classic neon signs — was uncertain.
Now, a local neon enthusiast is stepping in to keep the business alive.
“I’m a repair guy, I’m a craftsman — he was an artist,” said Keith Spencer, Rocket Neon's new owner.
WATCH | Meet Keith Spencer — Rocket Neon's new owner
Spencer spent about 18 years working in the neon business before leaving the trade in 2014 for a job in human resources.
“And then in the last six months, I’ve had several people approach me and say hey there’s a hole in the community, there’s no one in the valley doing this. Can you please put together a shop?” Spencer said.
That push led him to buy Rocket Neon and return to the craft he says he still loves.
“For me, it’s meditative to be bending the glass,” Spencer said. “There’s nothing that looks like Neon, they try and do it with LEDs and they just can’t do it."
He explained that without a locally owned shop like Rocket Neon operating in Boise, the closest places to service or repair classic neon signs would likely be Salt Lake City or Portland or Reno, which could lead some businesses to replace them entirely with new technology.
“If people like me don't step up in order to make those repairs and do those projects, then it will end up being LED and it just doesn’t look as good. It really doesn’t,” Spencer said.
“Cities are now discovering that Neon actually brings life to a community and a downtown. That’s why you’re starting to see more Neon in downtown Boise,” said Vangie Osborn, Founder of Signs of Our Times and long time friend of Kirkman and his family.
She said she is happy that Rocket Neon will continue preserving Idaho’s neon signs and that Wil's legacy will live on.
“Wil was a talented artist, I mean basically he was an artist who was also a Neon Bender that was the medium that became his art,” Osborn said.
“Rocket Neon has a future and that was in doubt for a long time because when he died, it’s like what happens to this business, but a group of people pulled together and we managed to find a way to move it forward and he would be happy to know that his legacy will continue,” Osborn added.
Spencer said he is getting back into the rhythm of bending neon and hopes to reopen the shop and begin working on signs again sometime in the next few months.
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