I remember vividly my first time at the Boise Spectrum. It was the late 90's. I watched the…read moreTitanic. It was packed with so many people. I had a Pronto Pup with a prickly pear lemonade. My friends and I were checking out all the boys. It will forever be one of my favorite core memories. You came here on the weekends to watch the latest movies. You hung out at Game World and played video games for hours, wasting your money for tickets to get cheap prizes. You drank hot chocolate at Moxie Jave whole you were waiting for your ride to show up. It was the ultimate hot spot! But, with time and the direction of growth heading towards Meridian, this venue has really slowed down. It was sad at one point, seeing how many businesses left this venue and moved on. Movie Java ended up turning into another coffee shop. That space is now taken over but completely different business now. CK Hawaiian is gone. It truly is sad to see a part of my youth slowly disappear. I did attend hair school in this complex in 2015. That was the first time I was in this area again. They remodeled the venue. Added umbrellas and more seating. A lot of upgrades were made and it was looking really fresh. Thursday thunder was introduced on Thursdays which was a great way to get people here. Live music, restaurants selling food and vendors to check out. It was a fun way to hang out and be in the sun. I hope that the local businesses in this venue stay put. The pizza joint is so good! I survived hair school eating pizza for lunch. The Creperie has the best Nutella and banana crepes. Be Thai pushes out such good Thai food. I have seen too many local businesses leave this venue and we need to support them so that they can stay. I hope more adventures bring me into this area so I have a reason to be here. I want to be able to create more core memories at this venue now and in the future.

Great mall/area with lots of lodging and food options. There's a small, outdoor bouncy-floored…read moreplay area for the kids and a nice fountain. There used to be a small video arcade here, but I was disappointed to find that it had closed last time I was here. The movie theater and Imax are still going strong though. Legends is always a must-stop.

I've been in Idaho for a week now and decided to check out one of the popular malls recommended by…read morethe locals. This place was really nice. With a ton of shops, restaurants, and entertainment to choose from, it was hard to make a selection. A lot of them had great sales going on too. Service was great at each of the stores I shopped in. I thought the value was great too cause tax % is much lower here than Cali.

I love the village. It's a beautiful place as always always well kept and clean lots of good…read moreshopping and good food as well. It is a vibe.

The cafe on the second floor of this three floor building has been open in "soft" mode for a couple…read moreof weeks. But it and the entire building will have GRAND OPENING ON WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, with ribbon cutting about 4:30. So heads up, if you haven't yet been to the TechMall to check it out, that would be a very good time to go. My husband and I had a chance for personal tour of all three floors of the building and while it may be too early to say "five stars" given this butterfly is just starting to emerge, it sure is hard to say anything but "woohoo" for the chutzpah that led to this vision and the tenacity of three men, including the principal in the mix who owns a Boise computer buisness, that made this happen. THE CONCEPT: The basic idea is to cluster smaller tech businesses and those with a vision for same under the same roof to nurture those in early stages and beyond. I guess that is in the theory of a rising tide raising all boats. Even for we whose working days in technology businesses are now in our rear view mirror, like my husband and me, this was a pretty fun place to tour and wish we were thirty years younger to participate. THE CAFE: It was also a darned good place to share a good pizza and enjoy an excellent Americano in the second floor cafe while using their 1000mb free wifi to get some work done in between vendor meetings for a home building project. (Not a typo...one thousand.) They have seating in two areas; in the dining area and in a bar that will have a beer 'vending machine' wall as well as wine and, no kidding, Oxygen service. (For the latter, just emerging as 'cool' when I was still working a million years ago, is it still?) THE BUILDING SET UP: 1st floor - a showroom that will highlight vendors if exisiting products and new inventions 2nd floor - cafe with good food (sandwiches, wraps, salads, pizza), excellent coffee, top notch service (order at counter it is delivered to your table) and lightening fast wifi. (The fastest in the Treasure Valley outside of Micron's building we hear.) 3rd floor - Includes a conference room (which I hear will be free to use) and offices for up and running businesses (like a web site development company) as well as marketing, legal and financial experts who are available as resource for fledging busineses. Butterfly emerged from crysalis, it will be good to see how it can fly. There is good karma in this. We wish them all the best. THIS N THAT: 1) PARKING: In lot. 2) ACCESSIBILITY: Accessible parking outside door. Level in and throughout. Elevators between floors. Cafe has standard height seating as well as high seating. 3) BUSINESS CARDS: There is a big display in the lobby where one can, after checking in with the TechMall's marketing director on the third floor, put cards for one's business. Similarly, one can pick up the cards here for other companies. It made me smile to realize business cards survive through every level of advancing technology! 4) NETWORKING MEETINGS: Take place on Wednesday evenings, either once a month or weekly. Check in with the info desk on the first floor or the marketing office on the third for more information.

I was fortunate enough to be afforded a private tour of Boise TechMall prior to their grand…read moreopening. I found myself thinking: I can't believe this is in Boise! I found myself saying: That's so cool! A lot. (I really need to find more phrases to express awe and fascination. Seriously.) That said, Boise TechMall is really just so very...cool. The first floor is designed to be a sort of high-tech trade show experience. The highlights for me were: 3D printer. While I was there, it was printing intricate chess pieces. The detail was astounding. Serious whoa factor. Evengreen Technology has an interactive display. It wasn't in place while I was there, but was under construction and the vision was explained to me. The coolest part of the display is that there will be a way to use their solar calculator tool. If you haven't done this, you need to. I was astounded at how affordable solar technology is today. Basically, by providing your address and current monthly power costs--they will estimate how much solar installation will cost you. For my home, the cost of the payment to finance solar wasn't any more than our current power costs! Serious wow factor. The second floor is their Innovative Design Center (website creation, graphic design, app development, SEO implementation) and is home to the Boise TechCafe and The HotSpot. The TechCafe has a full coffee bar in addition to cafe food. It would be easy to overlook the cafe by assuming the usual coffee house ho-hum eats. I don't think that is the case here. Word on the street is that the chef at the TechCafe is seriously legit. The coffee bar slings Caffe D'arte coffee (nice!). And, there's plenty of space for you to work with outlets situated where you sit. No crawling under tables, over feet, and and around table legs in search of an outlet. This is a TECH cafe. It caters to the laptop toting among you. You know who you are. This, my friends, is your oasis of productivity. The HotSpot is home to Boise's first ever automated beer wall. I feel as though no other words are necessary here. Automated. Beer. Wall. Also on the 2nd floor is The Viewfinder which offers professional photography and videography They have a great little studio with walls and door lined with sound proofing foam in order to do videography onsite. The third floor is their Business Solution Center. They have everything an entrepreneur would possibly need to turn the vision for their business into a reality. They have business planning services, certified accountants, attorney services, financial services, and marketing development. Plus, a pretty sweet training/conference center. I could go on and on--but, really, you just need to go check it out! Did I mention the automated beer wall? Get to it!

This shopping center is beautiful and has SO much potential! I prefer this theater to all the…read moreothers in the area. It is clean and never crowded...but that's also why it's sad. This shopping center is a ghost town. The theater and JC Penny's are the only anchors. There is a Bronco shop, a Shoe Carnival, and a kids playdate center, but other than that it is all vacant. If you open, they will come! People around here are eager for more shopping! I'm not sure if the rent is extreme and that is what is keeping retailers out, or what, but it could easily be the next Village at Meridian! I hope to see it grow.

Ever see the seagulls at the dumpster looking for a bite to eat or fighting over a pair of old…read moreConverse Chucks? That's what its like at the Big Box Outlet Store in Nampa. Each day has a discounted price. Whatever is in there is that price. Let me backup. Everything, as far as I know, in the Big Box Outlet Store is an Amazon return. Some packages are opened, others are not, and still others are in packaged in a great big Amazon box - Like a mystery box. You have to scan the bar code to see what the price is on Amazon first, and whatever is the price that day, its the price regardless of what its showing on Amazon. So, here's example. I scanned a Nintendo Switch carrying case. Its on Amazon for S17.99, on the day we were there - Saturday, I believe, it was able for $7.00. So, yeah, I'm getting a $10 discount if I want it. I don't have a Nintendo Switch but I was thinking of using this case for was a tech case for traveling. Storing cables, adapters, and portable batteries. Anyways, its a free for all, and seeing people digging in bins and filling the carts with stuff reminded me about the seagulls. Im sure there are deals to be had, and I bet on the 99 cent day, I dont know which day that is, its got to be insane. Its interesting to visit, but once was enough for me.

The staff is so friendly and my husband and i go weekly to find some deals. There is everything…read morefrom sprinkles to automotive. They have new stuff every week.

What a cool store with fun local treasures. Kudos to whoever designed the space, it's very…read moreaesthetically pleasing! I love the tent changing room. The t-shirts are really cool. Looking for some fun gift, they have you covered and they have loads of options. This isn't a tourist trap, it's modern local art! I scored a fun Idaho shirt and a few cards.

Visiting family in Eagle, here from Ohio and I wanted some cool Idaho merch. I love supporting…read morelocal artists and this place is where to go. Young lady was a great help and very kind. I highly recommend.

Love this shop. There is something for everyone! I bought some lovely soap and some artsy…read morepostcards. I wast tempted to buy some earrings or a goth of trees necklace. Next trip!

A scavenger hunt I was on, brought me past Indie MADE, which is located in Old Boise. One look in…read morethe window and I couldn't resist stopping in. A gift shop of the highest order. Local everything. Indie everything. Shirts, hats, amazing hand crafted jewelry, belt buckles, locally made candles. Honestly, you could spend far too long in here. I mean, they had a leather growler holder for your bike! Or, a similarly made wine bottle holder! Seriously? I need both of those items. Depending on the day. I found a locally made birthday card for a friend (made by local biz Rainbow Sprinkles). Prices aren't cheap, but what you might expect for quality products (the birthday card was $3--which seemed completely reasonable). If you're shopping for someone, and aren't entirely sure what to get them--come here. So many unique, thoughtful gift ideas, you'll be inspired. Get to it!

My husband recently moved to Idaho and we came across this store in the Boise Mall and we…read moreabsolutely love it! The selections and prices are great, we have gone in a few times now for gifts for family and friends out of state. We wanted them to have something special and this is true place to find it! The owner is awesome and accommodating.

Handmade Idaho…read more Handmade Idaho opened in 2019 with the goal of featuring and supporting local artisans, some of who make food products. They have an Annual Holiday Pop-Up. The rest of the year, you can order from their website. This year, the Handmade Idaho pop-up is at Boise Town Square Mall, located on the ground floor level, between Banana Republic and Lolli-Pop. It will be there through December 26. On 12/15/21, KM and I went to check out it out. KM left with a large bag full of gifts for friends and family. I got a ceramic Squirrel piggy bank from one of my favorite local artists. We went as part of a Yelp Elite Experience that included a Hot Chocolate Bar, 20% off of an item and a swag bag. But if we had known this store was in the mall, that would've been enticement enough. Whether you're looking for artisan food products or last-minute gifts, Handmade Idaho has just what you're looking for. Handmade Idaho has a FB page. Highly Recommended!!!