A couple months ago the Tour de Coffee was launched. It was our mission to find the best coffee in downtown Boise. After six grueling weeks of judging, tasting, and scrutinizing, we have our winner! We patronized six local coffee shops, including: Thomas Hammer, Java, Alia’s, Dawson Taylor, Flying M, and Moxie Java.

This was a fairly scientific process. We had 12-16 attendees to each location and judged based on the following criteria:

• Taste – How does the coffee taste? Was it excellently roasted or did it taste like expired Taster’s Choice?
• Speed – How quickly was the shop able to serve all of us? Were we tapping our feet in anticipation or swiping our debit cards the same moment we walked through the door?
• Barista Friendliness – Was the service friendly and cheerful? In other words, did the barista’s have their morning coffee before serving ours?
• Food Options – Were food options aplenty/was enough food available? Did you feature 32 strains of biscotti or just one stale bran muffin?
• Price – Was the price right? Were we surprised we could pay with pocket change or did we have to borrow from the nearest D.L. Evans?
• Location – Were we satisfied with how far/close the particular coffee shop was? Were we too winded to order when we arrived or did we merely stroll across the street?

Overall results below:

Scorecards were given to each attendee, and the feedback was crunched and tortured until we arrived at the clear winner: ALIA’S!!!!!!!!!! Alia’s has the best coffee in town (at least in our humble opinion), and they also offer the tastiest bagel sandwiches around. Alia’s scored highly in nearly every category. The major concern that seemed to be a theme in voting was their ability to handle our bandwidth…

That said, Congratulations, Alia’s! Now be sure to staff for a flood of Balihooers every Friday!!!

One of our Core Values is Work-Life Passion.  To get to know one another better, we share our passions on a regular basis in the form of a company event - pretty much anything goes: whether it be white water rafting, roping dummies, or eating pancakes.  Last week, our resident accountant shared his passion for Dutch oven cooking.  We took off to Ann Morrison Park on a stormy afternoon and feasted on the culinary genius of Mr. Steve Nett.  Equipped only with charcoal briquettes and cast iron, he created  3 delicious desserts: apple crisp, berry cobbler, and a chocolate marshmallow madness.  Thanks, Dutch Brother!

It’s national bike to work week. Despite the frigid temps a couple of mornings this week, many brave Balihoo’ers biked to work anyway.  In fact, several of our employees voluntarily forfeit their parking passes year round for the love of reducing their carbon footprint and staying in shape.  We have bike racks in the office for security (and aesthetics- we have some pretty cool bikes!); just one of the many perks of working at Balihoo!

One of my passions is interior design.  I admittedly Tivo design and HGTV reality shows and watch them with pure excitement while my husband moans and groans and escapes upstairs to play his guitar.  I’ve never pursued interior design as a career because I don’t like the idea that clients would have opinions and budgets.    That being said, the construction and design of both of our offices has been my reality show, and despite there being lots of opinions and a budget, it really was an exhilarating project for me.  I love the way our office turned out and think the space has evolved into one of the best out there.

I recently went on an expedition for modern furniture for our lobby.  The office is modern/industrial, so I wanted to find furniture that would complement it and soften the cold, sterile aesthetic that modern design sometimes imparts.  Our lobby has six corners and thus is a pretty awkward space, so I was having a hard time figuring out the furniture arrangement.  One night at 4am, I sat straight up in bed with a vision.  I immediately got up and sketched my idea on paper.  Then, on an unseasonably warm Thursday winter afternoon, I set out on my mission: 4 club chairs, a coffee table, lighting, and an entry table.  If we were anywhere but Boise, this would be one stop shopping at IKEA.  30 minutes, in and out, pack the stuff up to the office, pull out the trusty allen wrench, and assemble 6 cases of flat packed furniture.  Mission accomplished.

Anywhere but Boise.

I went to no less than 25 stores.  I was completely discouraged by the lack of modern furniture available in Boise.  I found a single chair, a lamp, and some accessories.  The rest was ordered online, and I was like a kid on Christmas morning when it finally arrived.  I rediscovered how pounding the pavement and finding hidden treasures all over town is so much more satisfying than shopping online.  Search engines don’t find cast metal dog bones when you’re looking for a coffee table.

If you come to the office, there isn’t a receptionist on duty- just some fabulous orange chairs and a white lacquer coffee table to greet you.  Hang a left, and you’ll find me at the end of the hall.  I’ll get you what you need, where you need to go, or to whom you need to meet.

I thought the day would never come.  After almost 5 months of hammering, painting, designing and redesigning, we’ve finally moved to our new space! Below are some before and after shots to give you a feel for how much work went into this space. It was no small feat!
Lower area before:
There were about 30 separate offices chopping up the space and leaving these dark endless hallways.

Lower area after: Bye-bye hallways!

Before (above) After (below)

Recycled Road Signs

Lounge Space

Bike Racks:
Break/Eating Area:

Upper Area Post-Demo:

Upper Area Complete:
Executive Office Row

Barn slides on office doors

Upper Work Area

Apologies for the poor formatting, but you get the drift. We’re all enjoying the new space!

Construction is considered a nuisance to most people, including me. Road work slows traffic, home remodeling disrupts your daily life (and covers it in a layer of dust), and building construction at the office can kill concentration. Lately, the commotion and clatter of construction has been a delightful rattle and hum under my feet. Why? It’s the sound of progress!

Let there be light!

Super cool glass walls

2×4 walls made from salvaged lumber from demolition- glass will be set in the gaps

Stud Walls- also recycled lumber

My fellow Balihooligans have been volunteering to paint. We’ve been holding a daily “Paint Party” to move the project along.  Check back for updates!

Demo is almost complete!

Remarkable progress has been made after just two days of demo!

Demo Day 1

Demo Day 2

Here’s a video with a short walk through of the area demolished as of August 5th.

We’ve outgrown our current office space, and we’re starting construction on 11,000 square feet. No more 2 page directions to our office- we’ll be right outside the elevator on the 3^rd floor. Check back for construction progress and pictures!