The Hive is alive Downtown music venue reopens

by Olivia Keyes

This last winter,The Hive was revived. An upcoming cultural cornerstone of Sandpoint is navigating an exciting new chapter. After sitting dormant for a few years without a concert or event, the venue has triumphed—now back and better than ever.

The Hive, located at 207 N. First Ave., came under new ownership in the summer of 2022. Mack Deibel, whose family purchased it, is no stranger to Sandpoint. He has worn many hats in our community, from work as a dishwasher to manager at Mickduff’s Beer Hall. After finishing an advertising degree with a minor in marketing, Deibel also spent time as the communication manager at the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce, and has worked as a real estate agent for the last few years.

For Deibel, The Hive blends aspects of his background, combining customer service with a vibrant business. “It’s truly a family business I’ve wanted to do in Sandpoint for a long time. The Hive presented an opportunity to use my strengths while challenging me,” he said.

The vibrancy of this venue can be felt as soon as you walk in the door. From the three-dimensional honeycomb installations to the beehive disco balls, there is no place like The Hive. The feel it provides is rare anywhere, let alone in Sandpoint.

This venue is a portal from our sleepy ski town to a worldclass entertainment scene.

“The care and thoughtfulness of this business concept from the founder, Jeff Grady—I am not misrepresenting The Hive when I say he truly left no stone unturned or nook untouched,” said Deibel. The authentic atmosphere is what drove the new owner to this institution. “Everything is custom, purposeful, and classy. The building itself is a work of art and, mechanically, another work of living art,” said Deibel.

This last winter, the venue hosted local favorites, including the RUB, the Miah Kohal Band, Copper Mountain Band, Last Chance Band, and Stoney Holiday, to name a few. The Hive truly has something for everyone, bringing in rock, country, bluegrass, and funk artists. The aim? To create a fun, affordable experience for our community and highlight local and regional artists.

In addition to wonderful concerts, The Hive is versatile, expanding into private parties, birthdays, celebrations of life, and galas, among other things. This new iteration of The Hive also allows its visitors to rent out luxurious VIP booths, accompanied by private cocktail service and seating. The venue also offers to host music video shoots, commercial shoots, and album recordings.

Sandpoint has a longstanding ability to show up enthusiastically for small businesses and institutions. “The love this community has for The Hive is genuinely humbling,” said Deibel. He went on to say the gratitude and appreciation given to him and his team while they were getting up and going again lit up some of the darkest days of this new pursuit.

The lineup for the year is updated constantly. Follow along at The Hive’s website at www.livefromthehive.com or their Facebook page.

Pizza needs beer, and beer needs pizza—it’s a simple fact of life that helped guide Paddler’s Alehouse owners Stephanie and Chris Wiens when they decided to expand the food menu at their thriving taphouse in Ponderay.

“We needed to offer more food and needed a route to take,” said Chris. “It seemed like a logical step for beer and pizza to come together.”

This past winter, the Wiens hired four kitchen staff members to craft the pizzas and calzones, which are made with hand-tossed dough and locally sourced products. The menu addition really took off with their taproom clientele. “It’s going really well; the pizza has been huge for us and for bringing people in,” Wiens said.

Paddler’s Alehouse, just off Kootenai Cut-Off Road at 100 Vermeer Drive in Ponderay, is a who’s who of regional brews and ciders. All the beers on tap are from small craft breweries within a 150-mile radius of northern Idaho, which includes Missoula to the east, Lewiston to the south, and almost to Wenatchee to the west. They’ve tapped into a niche for providing a welcoming place to gather while appreciating the fine beers and ciders made here in our region. The Wiens are pleased with the alehouse’s success and say it has matched the high hopes they had when it first opened in February 2021.

As for the pizzas, a top seller is The Paddler, made with white sauce, mozzarella, chicken, bacon, black olives, and banana peppers. “It’s one of our more popular pizzas,” said Stephanie, adding that new choices on the pizza menu now include a Philly cheesesteak pizza and a taco pizza. Paddler’s Alehouse also makes pizzas to go. Stop by and enjoy the classic combination of pizza and beer; open from noon to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Check out their fun events calendar at www.PaddlersAlehouse.com.

– Beth Hawkins