If shopping until you drop is a favorite way to spend your day, you’ll find plenty of places in the Treasure Valley.
Here are a few of them, but don’t forget to explore the many small shops and local businesess located away from major shopping venues.
- Karcher Mall
Karcher Mall is located on the Nampa-Caldwell Boulevard in Nampa. The mall has stores offering clothing, jewelry and appliances.
Anchor stores include The Bon Marche and the Emporium. Other stores include U.S. Factory Outlets, Radio Shack, Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts, Bath & Body Works, K B Toys, Sam Goody, Afterthoughts and Acapulco. CAN-ACT community theater is also located in Karcher Mall.
Ross Dress for Less, Applebee’s, Taco Bell and Big Lots are located in separate buildings on the mall grounds.
Hours at the mall are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday. For information, call 467-7580.
Directions: Take Interstate 84 to the Marsing/Nampa exit. Turn left at Northside/Nampa Boulevard. Turn right at Nampa-Caldwell Boulevard. The mall is at the corner of Karcher Road and the Boulevard.
- Meridian Crossroads
Meridian Crossroads is located on the corner of Eagle Road and Fairview Avenue.
The development has ShopKo, Sportsman’s Warehouse, Wal-Mart Supercenter, Old Navy, Office Depot, Bed Bath & Beyond, Sheplers Western Wear, Famous Footwear, Bath & Body Works, A New Vintage Wine Shop, Ross Dress For Less, Greenbacks Only A Dollar, Pedersons Ski & Sport and Deb.
The Texas Roadhouse, IHOP, Applebee’s, Arby’s, Whitewater Pizza & Pasta, Panda Express, Cold Stone Creamery and Carl’s Junior are among Crossroads’ restaurants. A Quizno’s sandwich place opened earlier this month.
A Marshalls discount clothing, gifts and housewares store, Goodwood Barbecue, Fantastic Sam’s salon and an Avonlea gift and home decor shop are planned to open this year.
- Midtowne Spectrum
Midtowne Spectrum is located at 2001 N. Cassia St., and offers shopping, entertainment and dining.
Some of the stores and restaurants located there are Call Jewelers, Gameworld, Moxie Java, Outback Steakhouse, Red Robin Restaurant, Yen Ching, New York Burrito and Blimpie.
Edwards Nampa Stadium 14 Cinemas is also located in the megaplex.
Directions: Take Interstate 84 to the Marsing/Nampa exit. Turn left at Northside/Nampa Boulevard. Turn right at Nampa-Caldwell Boulevard. Turn left on Karcher Road. Turn left on Cassia Street.
- R.C. Willey
R.C. Willey is located at the corner of Eagle and Franklin roads. They are a full-line furniture store where you can shop for sofas and dining tables, a full line of appliances, carpeting, fitness equipment, electronics, car stereos and more.
For more information, please call 288-4100 or visit their Web site at www.shoprcwilley.com.
- Wal-Mart Supercenter
Wal-Mart Supercenters are in Caldwell, Nampa and Meridian. The Supercenters consist of full grocery departments with 36 departments of discount general merchandise including clothing, lawn and garden, electronics, and a pharmacy. Locations are as follows:
- Caldwell — on the corner of Nampa-Caldwell Boulevard and Ustick Road
- Nampa — on the corner of 12th Avenue and Greenhurst
- Meridian — in the Meridian Crossroads development on the corner of Eagle Road and Fairview Avenue.
The Supercenters are all open 24 hours, and they consist of the food, clothing and general item sections.
Several businesses are slated to open near the Caldwell Wal-Mart between July 1 and 15, including Hollywood Video, Fantastic Sam’s hair salon, R Dollar Store, Hometown Pizza Take & Bake and Up In Smoke, a convenience store. Construction may commence after Aug. 5 on a four-building retail complex on adjoining property if approved.
- Downtown Nampa
Downtown Nampa features a number of shopping attractions, with book, magazine and record stores. Nafziger’s Men’s Store, The Yesteryear Shoppe, Old Towne Cottage Expressions and House of Kim are located on 1st Street South. KB’s Music Exchange, Village Square Antiques and Furniture City USA are on 2nd Street South.
The Dugout sports card shop, Diamond & Gold Factory Outlet, Copper Canyon Restaurant and Hong Kong Restaurant are on 12th Avenue. Enchanted Attic and Los Lagos Mexican Restaurant are on 13th Avenue, and Balloon Boutique is on 14th Avenue.
See www.nampa.com for the Nampa Chamber of Commerce.
Directions: Get off Interstate 84 at the Garrity Boulevard exit and continue onto 16th Avenue. After traveling over the railroad crossing, you will reach Second Street. Turn right on Second Street and you will soon be in the downtown area.
- Downtown Caldwell
Caldwell has several antique and curio stores. The Craft Corner, Kings, Penny Wise Drug, Norman Jewelers and For Heaven’s Sake, a Christian bookstore, are some of the places to occupy your time.
See www.caldwellidaho.org for the Caldwell Chamber of Commerce.
Directions: The downtown Caldwell area consists of Main Street, Blaine Street, Kimball Avenue and Cleveland Avenue. By heading to Caldwell on Nampa-Caldwell Boulevard, you’ll end up directly on Blaine Street.
- Boise Towne Square
Towne Square has 185 stores, with five anchor stores: The Bon Marche, J.C. Penney, Mervyn’s, Sears and Dillard’s.
Popular stores include Eddie Bauer, Ann Taylor, The Gap, Banana Republic, Abercrombie and Fitch, American Eagle Outfitters, Williams Sonoma, Kay-Bee Toys, Bath and Body Works and Victoria’s Secret.
Victoria’s Secret Beauty opened last Thursday. The Children’s Place, a children’s clothing store, Coldwater Creek clothing and The Eggplant Co., a novelty shop, recently opened.
Other offerings include Western apparel, furs, cards, gifts, home and kitchen wares, jewelry, sporting goods and books.
Towne Square is surrounded by other shopping areas and specialty stores, including Pier One Imports, The Men’s Warehouse, Old Navy, and restaurants such as the Olive Garden.
Several other stores and restaurants are located across the street from Towne Square, including Toys R Us, Red Robin and The Gap.
Mall hours are from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. For information, call 378-4400.
Directions: Take lnterstate 84 into Boise and get off at the first exit marked City Center. The very next exit after that takes you to Franklin Road. Go left and take the next right at the stop light onto Milwaukee Street.
- Milwaukee Marketplace
Just up the street from Boise Towne Square is the Milwaukee Marketplace.
The 120,000-square-foot strip mall features Ultimate Electronics, Borders Books and Music, Cost Plus World Market, Zurcher’s Party and Wedding Outlet and other stores.
Farther north on Milwaukee Street, you’ll find Gart Sports and Barnes & Noble Booksellers.
- Downtown Boise
Several hundred specialty shops, coffee shops, clubs and restaurants occupy a 20-block area. Antique shops, specialty clothing and furniture stores on almost every corner add to the eclectic blend of wares presented there.
General hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., but restaurants and bars are open until 10 p.m. or later.
At The Grove, on Eighth and Main, you can find Idaho-themed gifts at Taters and you can dine at the Brick Oven Bistro.
Across the I-184 Connector from The Grove is an old warehouse district called the Eighth Street Marketplace.
At Eighth Street, you can find gift shops, exotic stores and several restaurants. Try organic wine, beer, and multi-cultural organic foods at the Koffee Klatsch. Café Olé is nearby, along with the Big Easy concert house. Inside the marketplace, you’ll find Boise’s premier comedy club, The Funny Bone.
There are several parking garages in downtown Boise, but most merchants will validate a parking permit, so it is inexpensive.
Visit www.boise.org/visitor/downtown.html or www.downtownboise.org for a list of downtown shops.
Directions: To get downtown, get off Interstate 84 at the City Center exit. But instead of taking the next available exit, keep going down the Connector. The bottom of the hill is 13th and Myrtle. You can turn on Eighth to get to the marketplace or you can go one more block and turn left onto Capitol Boulevard. Once you get past Front Street, which leads back onto the Connector, you’re in the heart of downtown Boise.
- Boise Factory Outlets
Boise also has a factory outlet mall featuring 22 stores such as Levi’s, Van Heusen, Bass & Co. shoes, Book Warehouse, Perfect Look Outlet Salon, Full Size Fashions, The Kitchen Collection and The Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. Not all stores are “discount” houses, but they do offer wares not found elsewhere in the Treasure Valley.
Hours at the mall are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. For information, call 331-5000.
Ice skating also is available at Idaho Ice World in the outlet mall. The skating center has two indoor National Hockey League-sized ice rinks.
Directions: Take Interstate 84 east past Boise and take the Gowen Road exit. Take a right and then a left at the stop sign.