Update: Push & Pour voted Boise’s top coffee shop opens 3rd location. It’s on The Bench
UPDATE: Since this story was originally published on March 2, Push & Pour opened its third location, 13 S. Latah St., on April 12.
Just a stone’s throw south of the Boise River Greenbelt in Garden City stands a freshly painted white building. Its two large, clear garage doors on either side of a doorway in the middle of the structure make it look like any other auto repair garage in Boise.
But a few things set this place apart. First and foremost, it’s Boise’s favorite coffee shop, according to the results of a recent contest voted on by Idaho Statesman readers.
The name, “Push & Pour,” is painted delicately in black next to the front door, while the word “COFFEE” is emblazoned in a slightly more noticeable fashion down the right side of the building.
Push & Pour was crowned as Boise’s favorite earlier this month after coming out on top of the Statesman’s coffee shop bracket challenge. Push & Pour, which currently has the location at 214 E 34th St. in Garden City and another at 501 S Ash St. in Boise, beat out 31 other coffee shops in the Treasure Valley to capture the title.
The coffee shop also opened a third location at 13 S. Latah St. in April.
“I think it was a lot of help from all these people that are in line out here waiting for coffee,” co-owner Lucas Erlebach told the Statesman in a recent interview at the Garden City location. “I think they really pulled it together for us.”
Pushing skateboards, pouring coffee
The Garden City location is where it all got started for Erlebach and his co-owner, Brennan Conroy. The pair opened their first store there in 2017.
Erlebach and Conroy were both born in the Treasure Valley before moving to San Francisco to pursue their dreams of skateboarding. Erlebach has skateboarded since he was 9 years old but realized it was something he couldn’t do forever.
So he returned to Boise in 2017, bringing Conroy along with him to help pursue a second passion: coffee and community.
Erlebach’s first job was as a barista at the age of 17, and he said he’s loved coffee ever since. But he wanted to open an establishment that was more than just a local coffee spot that closed up shop in the middle of the afternoon. He wanted to become a staple of the neighborhood; not just a place that serves coffee and sends people on their way, but a place for people to gather and hold events celebrating local artists.
Erlebach and Conroy eventually settled on an old automotive shop in a neighborhood close to the Greenbelt and Boise Whitewater Park that wasn’t seeing much development at the time.
“Garden City hadn’t really developed like it is now,” Erlebach said. “We wanted something that was close to Boise and on the river, but not in downtown Boise because we felt like there were plenty of coffee shops doing the right thing down there.
“And we kind of want to find neighborhoods to kind of provide a coffee service for our neighborhood first, and kind of find a little niche where we fit in.”
Push & Pour, named for “pushing a skateboard and pouring coffee,” Erlebach said, certainly offers its fair share of the expected food and drink, including avocado toast and a wide variety of bagels to complement a long list of coffee options.
But the store also runs events to promote local artists, bands, comedians and other artistic endeavors.
In February, Push & Pour hosted the championship round of the Boise Latte Art Contest. In the past, the coffee shop has hosted local comedian Emma Arnold and Arizona-based indie rock band Calexico. Local artist Ashley Dreyfus and photographer Tal Roberts have also presented their work there.
When the weather warms up a little, Erlebach opens one of the garage doors, connecting the skateboard-inspired decorations inside with the fire pit and seating areas outside.
“We want to have events and art shows and be able to do fundraisers and kind of do a little bit of everything for the community, and be a real space for that,” Erlebach said.
‘Not enough spaces like this’
Engaged in an in-depth conversation with a friend, Boise resident Jacob Bottles sat next to the fire pit recently. Bottles, 28, is a graphic and fashion designer, and can often be found at Push & Pour for both the coffee and the events. He’s there so regularly that Erlebach knows him by name.
“I love it, there’s definitely not enough spaces like this,” Bottles told the Statesman. “I want to see more cultural spaces where we can have shows and art shows, you know, music and stuff like that.”
The location is also a bonus for Bottles, who often bikes down the Greenbelt from downtown Boise to Garden City.
A couple of feet away from Bottles sat Ellen Blakemore, a traveling nurse from Spokane who’s living in Boise for eight weeks. Blakemore, 61, is staying close to Boise State’s campus and said she enjoys seeking out the best local coffee wherever she travels. That led to her renting a bike and using it to travel around the area.
Her favorite Boise coffee stop became Push & Pour.
“I just like coffee, good coffee. And so I’ve been trying Cortado’s with oat milk,” Blakemore said. “And this is by far the best place. And the location is fantastic. The fire pit and the people, I just love it.”
Inside the store you can find art from Dreyfus hanging on the wall, as well as skateboards and other wall art — including a fish on a skateboard.
At the main bar — which is reminiscent of a sports bar, but instead of alcohol you can find the tantalizing aromas of coffee beans — you can often find new Boise resident Christapher Beeney.
Beeney moved to Boise from Kansas City four months ago and said he frequents Push & Pour as often as four times a week. It reminds him of the Crossroads Art District back in Kansas City, where “all walks of life” convene in one place, he said.
“I love the hole in the wall feel, too. I don’t like that clean-cut, cookie-cutter feel,” Beeney said. “Even though this does have a little bit cleaner of a vibe than most holes in the wall.”
Beeney used to frequent a coffee shop in Kansas City that also promoted local art and music, and he said that’s something he connects with here.
Push & Pour recently opened a new location in an old abandoned car wash on the Boise Bench. The third location will be next to Morris Hill Park and is set to open next month. But despite the expansion, Erlebach still wants to keep that neighborhood feel.
“Our goals are just kind of trying to keep expanding organically, and where we feel a need and people feel like they need us, we’ll go there,” Erlebach said. “And in the meantime, we’re just going to keep doing awesome events with the community.”
This story was originally published March 2, 2022 at 4:00 AM.
