‘Deficient’ Meridian ‘needed something like this.’ So a new bar just opened
Meridian is filled with entertainment options, whether it’s Roaring Springs Water Park or Topgolf, Yard House or In-N-Out Burger — or just the entire eating, drinking and shopping bonanza known as The Village.
But when Wayne Martin dreamed up Level Up Lounge at 830 N. Main St., he knew there was one thing that the Boise suburb was not teeming with.
“The biggest reason I opened this wine bar, and the biggest reason that we came up with the design that we did,” says Martin, who also unveiled Dia de los Muertos-themed restaurant Las Calaveras last year, “was Meridian — especially downtown Meridian. ... It’s deficient for a lot of things that have culture.”
Level Up Lounge helps remedy that. Combining the cool vibe of a speakeasy with the elegance of a wine bar, the locally operated drinking destination debuted June 26 with a grape focus. But it also serves beer, canned cocktails — and “fun,” Martin says. On-site games such as checkers, chess and backgammon have been fast hits.
“I’m surprised they get utilized as much as they do,” Martin admits, “but they do.”
2,000 bottles of wine
Quipping that Level Up Lounge is like a “fancy” 127 Saloon — a massively popular downtown Meridian bar — Martin says he wanted to exploit a gap not necessarily filled by other nightspots.
With plush chairs and semi-private seating, Level Up is a place “for someone to come in and have a nice evening on a date night,” he says, “or to come in and have a meeting. Me, especially, I came from the corporate world for over 21 years. And I utilized wine bars a lot to do business with incoming clients or current clients.”
Level Up Lounge stocks about 2,000 bottles at any given time, he says, with 138 SKUs, aka individual labels. The space includes a wine boutique, which means you can walk out the door with a bottle or drink it in-house. Wine also can be purchased by the glass.
“Of those 138 SKUs,” he adds, “72 percent of them, I believe, are under $25. We represent 95% of wine regions around the world.”
Food, private dinners
Level Up also offers a food menu with wine-appropriate selections such as charcuterie, tapas and desserts.
Twice a month on Tuesdays, the bar will host a special private event. One is a five-course, wine-paired dinner party capped at 40 people. The other will be a murder-mystery dinner.
It all boils down to the same thing: a niche.
“Downtown Meridian, in general, is under-served,” Martin says. That’s why he also has a new coffee shop, Sasquatch Joe, opening at the Old Town Lofts apartment complex at 33 Idaho Ave. in roughly a month. “For the same reason,” he says.
“It’s extremely under-served. People don’t realize until you’re down here, there’s a tremendous amount of foot traffic, and the corners of Main and Pine are extremely busy.”
‘On the right track’
That means so far, so good, at Level Up Lounge — which has received plenty of compliments.
“It happened with Las Calaveras,” Martin says, “and it started immediately with the wine bar. I’ve had hundreds of people come up and shake my hand and say, ‘You know what? Thank you. Thank you for taking the time to get something like this open. Meridian, especially downtown Meridian, really needed something like this.’
“It makes me feel good,” he says, “but it also makes me feel like we’re on the right track.”
This story was originally published July 18, 2025 at 4:00 AM.