New bar opens with ‘best patio in the valley. Hands. Down.’ It is pretty smokin’, Boise.

Ryan Sturman isn’t shy about hyping his new 3,000-square-foot Garden City patio.

Since opening Sturman’s Wine & Cigars two weeks ago at 4204 W. Chinden Blvd., he’s repeatedly referred to it as “the best new patio in the Treasure Valley” on the bar’s Facebook page.

In patio-berserk Boise, them’s fightin’ words. But nobody’s arguing. One commenter already took it up a notch, insisting: “Best patio in the valley. ... Hands. Down.”

This assessment, of course, depends partly on how you feel about the aroma of smoldering tobacco leaves.

Wine bar first, cigar lounge second — and outdoor patio paradise above all — Sturman’s Wine & Cigars is not a destination for someone demanding a nonsmoking section. But there are plenty of other places fitting that bill, figures Sturman, who also owns Sturman’s Smokeshop in downtown Boise.

“Everybody can go drink wine at all these wineries, but this is the spot for the guys that want to enjoy a cigar and a glass of wine. And the people who don’t smoke cigars,” he adds.

“There’s other patios you can enjoy a cigar on, but you always feel like you’re doing something wrong. This is the spot ... where you’re not doing something wrong, you’re encouraged.”

Wine, food, cigars

The Sturman’s formula is winning fast fans. Other Facebook feedback has ranged from: “Great staff, great escape, great time” to “The wine, the food, and the cigars were extraordinary.”

A food truck offers a rotating menu Wednesdays through Saturdays, pulling up to the double gate in the back. “We’re basically using my 3,000-square-foot patio as his dining room,” Sturman says.

And the patio itself? It’s particularly impressive if you remember what was there before. A whole lot of nothing. Behind a vaporizer store. “I put a lot of lipstick on that pig,” Sturman admits. “It was literally dirt, weeds and a chain-link fence.”

Sturman’s patio seats nearly 80 people. One-third of it is covered. The idea is to be a year-round hangout. “We have ceiling fans, heaters, speakers, three TVs outside,” Sturman says. “... Even in wintertime, you can go out back and watch the snow fly and have a glass of wine and a cigar.”

Flames flicker from two fire features. Feeling competitive? Corn hole beckons.

Sturman’s also hosts live local music on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

The 1,200-square-foot indoor wine bar has seating for 27. It features hundreds of bottles of wine and four taps pouring local beers. Sturman’s also sells canned cocktails — “and we (spiff) ’em up,” he says.

If you’re a cigar aficionado? There’s a walk-in humidor. With more than 2,000 sticks.

‘Top-notch’ staff

Based on turnout so far, Sturman’s is off to a smokin’ start. The bar sold over 200 bottles of wine and went through 14 five-gallon kegs in its first week, he says.

And at a time when restaurants and bars are struggling to hire employees, “My staff is top-notch,” Sturman says. “I cherry-picked all of them, and I pay them really well so they’ll stick around. They’re just really good.”

It’s a nice feeling, he admits, after beginning the project way back in scary 2020.

“I started this mid-pandemic because I’m either stupid or a genius,” Sturman says.

“... So far,” he adds happily, “it’s making me look like not such an idiot.”

▪ Sturman’s Wine & Cigars is open 2 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 2 to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 to 8 p.m. Sunday. You must be 21 or older to enter.

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