On North Fourth Street, the walls at 406 are covered in patches, coins and photos from bases and wars around the world. A missing-man table sits under a TV that loops photos of local first responders and service members. One of the barstools is sponsored in memory of Lew Allert, a Marine Corps veteran.
A few blocks south, across Sherman, a brick storefront that opened as the 600-seat Roxy Theater in 1939 is full of lumber, power tools and an empty stage. The owner is sanding the floorboards himself, and his mother is helping with the stain.
The two buildings look unrelated. What connects them is a liquor license, one the Coeur d'Alene VFW calls the second-oldest the state of Idaho ever issued. It hung at the North Fourth address for years, it now belongs to the dance hall, and the deal that moved it from one end of Fourth Street to the other is the reason both projects exist.
One License, Two Addresses
| The Patriot Bar | Kickers | |
|---|---|---|
| Address | 406 N. Fourth St. | South Fourth Street, in the Montandon family's building |
| Operator | VFW Post 889 | Michael Goggin, owner of The Beacon |
| Building's past | Mik's bar and nightclub | Roxy Theater (1939), then a hardware store, an auto body shop, Wiggett's Antiques, and the Museum of North Idaho's temporary home in 2024 |
| Concept | Veterans' bar with a scratch kitchen and a 200-seat event center upstairs | Country-western dance hall with room for just under 400 people |
| Timing | Grand opening Oct. 3, 2026 | Goggin's target was as soon as December, once city permits clear |
VFW Post 889 dates to 1922. For years it leased its liquor license to Mik's, the North Fourth Street bar and nightclub that a lot of downtown regulars still remember. Mik's closed in 2023. The Coeur d'Alene Press reported that a new state law on selling and leasing private liquor licenses is what shut it down.
After that, the Post sold the license to Goggin, the 29-year-old who runs The Beacon at Fourth and Sherman. He's using it to open Kickers. The VFW took the money from the sale, rebuilt the old Mik's space without borrowing a dollar, and reopened it as the Patriot Bar.
The 2023 Law Behind the Handoff
The law is Senate Bill 1120, passed in the 2023 session as an emergency act and in effect since July 1, 2023. Licenses issued on or after that date can't be sold or leased. Older licenses, like the VFW's, got one more sale or transfer. The bill text says such a license
"may be sold or transferred to another location, facility, or premises only once on or after July 1, 2023, and shall thereafter be non-transferable."
When the Idaho Statesman covered the bill in June 2023, sponsor Jim Guthrie said it would end the speculative value attached to licenses. Bar and restaurant owners warned it would leave fewer options and make life harder for new businesses.
Lawmakers changed the leasing rules again in 2024 with Senate Bill 1421, and the current version sits in Idaho Code § 23-903.
For Fourth Street, the effect is simple. A license Idaho issued generations ago had one move left. The VFW used it, and the license now lands at a new address on the same street. Under the bill text quoted above, it can't be transferred to a new location again.
Where the Money Went
The VFW spent close to two and a half years planning and building out the Patriot Bar. According to the Press's Oct. 3 report, volunteers gutted the old Mik's building and hauled out nearly 25 containers of debris. Then they redid the lighting, kitchen and decor from top to bottom.
Every dollar the bar brings in stays with the Post, and about 300 combat veterans vote on how it's spent. Quartermaster David Morgensen told the Press he gets calls every day from veterans who need help with anything from a tank of gas to housing. Commander Bob Martin said the bar is meant to turn that help into a steady stream of income: "When a veteran calls, we find a way."
What's inside:
- The bar itself, designed and built by Jeremy Glenwinkel, an Army and Marine Corps veteran who donated his time and labor.
- A future epoxy bar top. The temporary counter will be replaced with one that holds badges, coins and patches donated from around the region and around the world. The Post is asking for donations now.
- Sponsored barstools. Guests can sponsor a stool, and the money goes to the Post.
- A community remembrance wall for fallen officers and service members, plus the missing-man table.
- Twelve TVs for games and events.
- A 200-seat event center upstairs, run along with the bar by manager Callie Kellogg, a Coeur d'Alene native.
- A house-made menu with scratch-made sauces. Planned programming includes Wine Wednesdays, live music, and pool and dart tournaments.
"Everything you see on these walls is a story," Sr. Vice Commander Terry Alling told the Coeur d'Alene Press. The schedule is starting to fill in, too. KOSH lists a show at the Patriot Bar on Friday, Nov. 27, at 6 p.m.
The Roxy Gets a Stage Again
The license's new home has its own long history. The Montandon family's South Fourth Street storefront opened as the Roxy Theater in 1939 and has had a string of tenants since. Building owner David Montandon told the Press the space "has been underutilized for so long."
Goggin's plan is multiple bars, a new sound system, ticketed shows and a stage big enough for "any type of band." He wants touring musicians passing through town to have somewhere to play, and local bands too. The centerpiece will be a main rectangular bar like the one at The Beacon, less than a block north. "There aren't too many dance floors around anymore," he told the Press.
The deal stayed local. Montandon said it came together through two Coeur d'Alene families who knew each other. Michael's father, Jerry Goggin, opened The Beacon in 2006 and was a longtime customer at Montandon's hardware shop. The Beacon itself sits at the corner of Sherman Avenue and Fourth Street, in space that had been a candy store before the pub opened that year.
Goggin said The Beacon has 15 or 16 people on staff and expects Kickers to bring the total to roughly 30 to 35. Hiring will start once there's an expected opening date. In the meantime, he coaches quarterbacks at Lake City, where he once played the position, and spends whatever time is left sanding Kickers' floorboards.
The two venues are on good terms. "It's always good to have entertainment downtown and for things to do after businesses close," Martin told the Press. "We are eager to see what Kickers does."
Veterans Day Week Around the County
The Patriot Bar's first Veterans Day falls on Wednesday, Nov. 11. If you want to mark the day beyond Fourth Street, three public events nearby are on the calendar:
- Rathdrum Veterans Recognition Ceremony, Saturday, Nov. 7. It's at Lakeland High School Commons. Doors open at 10 a.m., the recognition starts at 11 a.m., and lunch follows. American Legion Post 154, the Northwest Guardian Riders and the City of Rathdrum are the hosts.
- Hayden Veterans Day and 2026 Distinguished Veteran ceremony, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 11 a.m. It's on the McIntire Family Park stage behind Hayden City Hall, according to the City of Hayden's events page.
- Robert LaRue at the Post Falls Historical Society & Museum, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 6 to 8 p.m. The museum is at 101 E. Fourth Ave. LaRue will talk about his book War No More, which the City of Post Falls says draws on his childhood during World War II and his time as a U.S. Navy aviator in Vietnam. The event is free, but seating is limited and registration is required.
If you've got coins, badges or patches tucked away from your own service or a family member's, the Patriot Bar is collecting them for its permanent bar top at 406 N. Fourth St.
Downtown Coeur d'Alene keeps changing block by block, and if you own near Fourth Street, those changes matter when it's time to price a home. At ExSell Realty Group, Donnie and Amy Wilkins keep up with this corridor storefront by storefront. Get a Free Home Valuation, and we'll show you where your place stands today.
