BOISE, Idaho — Starting a business isn't easy--but doing it in a pandemic is especially difficult.
For the owners of Kicks N Bricks in Boise, a leap of faith ended up paying off big time. The friends-turned-business-partners, Riley and Zane, say they saw a need here in Boise for luxury shoes--and they wanted to fill it.
"Just one of those things where we had to put our foot on the ground and just get the ball rolling before someone else did," explained Riley Phillips, co-owner of Kicks N Bricks. "We've been selling so fast we ran out of saran wrap. We were buying constantly."
For both, the love of shoes goes way back. Riley's very first baby shoe was a Jordan One, and Zane's interest kicked off in high school.
"In 10th grade all my buddies were wearing Jordans," explained Zane Chastain, co-owner of Kicks N Bricks. "On Saturdays, I'd go to the mall and get the drops that were released."
It was an interest they each followed on their own until they met through mutual friends. They hit it off immediately and decided to team up in March of 2020.
"(Now) we're always together, always working," Phillips laughed.
When the pandemic hit, for a lot of local businesses it meant a huge challenge, but for Kicks N Bricks, it meant they could hit the ground running.
They started off in June 2020 at a small shop on State Street, but by Black Friday they had already outgrown the space--so they moved into the Boise Town Square Mall.
"We're set in stone. This is what we do," Phillips said. "The layout we have means we have space to keep growing."
They recently celebrated a huge milestone--surpassing a million dollars in sales. They say they wouldn't be here if it weren't for the huge outpouring of community support.
"The love from all the local resellers and providing them with this platform where they can come and get cashed out for their shoes instantly and be able to buy sell and trade," Phillips said.
