Pengilly's Saloon

History

John Pengilly and his wife, Faye, sold the Downtowner Motel they had built in Boise in 1959 and, in 1976, opened Pengilly’s Saloon with their son, Pete. The bar sits in the 1892 Spiegel Building in the Old Boise district and is known for a century-old Brunswick backbar and mostly no-cover sets by local players. Jazz singer Curtis Stigers has been a co-owner, and the room has hosted musicians such as Bill Coffey, the Frim Fram Four, and John Hansen. Esquire once listed it among the country’s top bars.