Madison Shumway
Life Editor
Walking into A Different Cup’s new 4th St. location, the old location of CoHo, it’s clear that the shop really does offer something different.
Gone are the bright yellow walls and chaotic art pieces of its predecessor. In their place are clean white paint and wood paneling. Laser-cut iron coffee cups and sconces star the walls.
I sit at a long, rustic conference table to write this story. A couple from out of town enter the shop, ask about the renovations.
“It smells like it opened recently,” the man says. “It smells like fresh paint.”
When Heather and Brandon Wilcox moved from San Diego to Pocatello three years ago, they opened a coffee shop on Main Street, nestled between a micro-park and a tattoo parlor. Heather Wilcox had managed a Starbucks back in California, and the couple had frequented local coffee jaunts in their spare time, but A Different Cup was their first caffeinated business venture.
The pair modeled the shop after what they observed as successful in San Diego: “really good coffee, really basic drinks,” as Heather Wilcox describes. The original menu was simple, but the Wilcoxes soon discovered that Pocatello patrons desired more complicated, sugar-filled combinations.
“What we found is that the community here wants a lot of flavors and a lot of things to add in,” Heather Wilcox says. “We’re definitely interested in always adjusting to what the customers want.”
Now, at their new location, a collection of syrups and flavorings in tall, transparent bottles rests on the counter, a sign of A Different Cup’s evolution in the eastern Idaho coffee market.
I stand at the register, unsure of what to order. The wall behind the counter is bare — the Wilcoxes have yet to affix the menu board there. Heather Wilcox balances her infant son on her hip and suggests a dark orange mocha concoction (full disclosure, it’s sugary and delicious).
Despite their adoption of additional flavors and more complex drinks, Heather Wilcox says, A Different Cup has stuck to its basic philosophy of quality coffee. Every beverage ordered at the shop is made from organic ingredients, and its beans are sourced fresh from Jackson, Wyo.
“We’re not interested in cutting corners to make a drink,” she says. “So as we add to the menu, we’re going to take some time and make sure it’s the right thing.”
The 4th St., just-off-campus location opened Nov. 12, and the Wilcoxes have yet to officially complete the space or nail down specific hours. For the time being, A Different Cup is open at 7 a.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m. on weekends, with the Wilcoxes and their two young sons staffing the shop until business slows down for the day.
As I marvel at the transformation that has taken place inside the shop, from the in-your-face approach of former tenant CoHo, to A Different Cup’s refreshing simplicity, I can’t help but ask about the Wilcoxes’ plans for their new location. Growing up in Pocatello, I came of age among the bustle of open nights and poetry slams. Heather Wilcox says they’re open to suggestions from their patrons and are weighing the possibility of hosting similar events.
I wouldn’t necessarily mind if they didn’t, though. A Different Cup is pared-down, serene. The shop is airy, and laughter peals from a kid playing on an iPad behind the counter. I ask the Wilcoxes about the shop’s name, and Brandon Wilcox shrugs. “I don’t even remember how we came up with the name.”
Heather Wilcox describes the literal inspiration for “A Different Cup,” which is stylized in the shop’s logo with a jagged lightning bolt à la the famous Australian rock band. At the first location, the Wilcoxes hung a variety of ceramic mugs that patrons could choose between: a different cup to catch your coffee in.
But the name became a sort of guiding principle, too, one that resonates in the light-filled space just a block from ISU campus. “It was something a little bit different,” Heather Wilcox says.
A grand opening event is in the works, but for now, the shop has Wi-Fi, tables and quality coffee, which is all it needs to welcome customers inside.
“We’re excited about it,” Heather Wilcox says. “It’s been a labor of love, for sure.”
