New Store Inside Old Boise Dive Bar Hosts Grand Opening This Week

Back in March, Southeast Boise was surprised when one of the neighborhood’s older businesses announced that the shopping center it called home didn’t want to renew its lease.

In a message to Facebook followers, Eastside Tavern let their fans know that the Eastgate Shopping Center told them that the plaza was “re-branding” and that they’d have to close at the end of April. 

The neighborhood bar wasn’t down and out very long. In May, they announced plans to reopen by the end of the summer in a location just two miles away from the old bar. Eastside’s ownership spent most of the summer renovating the Cricket’s location on Oakland Avenue and quietly reopened on August 31.

Renovations were also happening inside the old Eastside Tavern location at 610 Boise Ave throughout the summer. Crews were working on transforming the bar into a new Play It Again Sports location. According to the new location’s website, it’s locally owned and operated by Mike Welch, who has owned and operated the Boise area’s other locations for over 20 years. 

In addition to buying and selling sports equipment, the new location will be home to a full-service bike shop, ski shop and will offer glove relacing, skate sharpening and golf regripping. 

They officially open on Thursday, October 13. To introduce themselves to the neighborhood, they’re planning to give away a paddleboard, a custom Heart of the Hide Glove, backpacks, gift cards and junior lease packages which allow kids to rent snowboards/skis/boots/bindings to get up on the mountain without having to buy the equipment that they may outgrow by the next year. 

Play It Again is the second new business to open in the shopping center in the last two months. Thai Bistro took over the old Thai Basil location and opened on September 9. They join a growing list of new businesses to open in the Treasure Valley in 2022.