The Bergen Airport, a menu staple at Bird and Billy Coffee House in downtown Kalispell, is a simple masterpiece achievable by the artistry and care put into its five ingredients. The bocadillo style sandwich is made with a generous spread of salted New Zealand grass fed butter, a drizzle of sweet fruit preserves, and thick slices of creamy Normandy brie layered on top of each other. These layers are then topped with several strips of cured bacon from Olympia Provisions, a Portland artisanal charcuterie company, and housed in one of Bird and Billy’s signature baguettes.
Adhering to a 48-hour process developed by one of the owners, Thomas Nuila, the baguettes are made fresh daily, using a conditioning technique similar to a sourdough. Each morning, a dough of all-purpose flour, kamut and spelt is mixed together and set aside. After resting for an hour, the dough is carefully folded three times, then rested for another two hours before being pre-shaped into loaves and put away for the night. The next day the baguettes undergo the final shaping and, after resting for one last hour, they’re baked and ready for customers.
The end result triumphs in all the ways baguettes should, but often do not. The exterior is crusty and crisp, but never chewy, and the inside is fluffy and succulent, creating a superlative vehicle for the artisan ingredients that have traveled a great distance to come together into one perfect sandwich. The flavors and textures seem contradictory, but through their simple elegance and familiarity, every sensation conclusively arrives in harmonic unity.
Bird and Billy serves fresh bread, baked goods, and bocadillo style sandwiches like the Bergen Airport six days a week from their downtown Kalispell location. They hand roast their own coffee 5 pounds at a time, finding single origin beans from locations that inspire experimentation. Officially owned by Gary, Thomas and Robbie Nuila, all eight members of the family can be found working at the location.
“Everybody’s invested in it,” Gary said.
This contributes to the intimate feeling of the surroundings. Most days the tables will be full of people, some working, others simply catching up and enjoying the company of friends.
“We want to be the city’s living room. A place where you can just feel comfortable,” Gary said.
That welcoming nature is tied to their definition of hospitality, he added. “Hospitality not in the kind of hotel sense, but that sense of family care.”
That style of hospitality is, in some way, drawn from the family’s travels. They journey together, sometimes for up to a year, probing cultures and traditions focusing on food and old world practices. This keeps them adding to their “library of tastes,” as Gary calls it, and helps them stay attuned to what makes a place welcoming.
The Nuilas achieve this by using high-quality ingredients to create timeless fare. Items crafted at the highest possible level without ever extending themselves.
“We go with what we know we can do,” Gary said.
Sometimes this means switching up ingredients or offerings.
“In Montana, you kind of have to search for the best ingredients,” he said. “Often, it will dry up.”
This forces them to dive into their creativity, resourcefulness and past experiences to come up with new ideas.
When introducing bocadillos to the menu last summer, they looked into the “library” for inspiration. The Bergen Airport was one of the first items that came to mind.
Before they set out in 2016 for the family of eight’s first year-long sojourn across Europe, Gary thought some reconnaissance in Spain would be wise. Finding cheap tickets, he and Robbie struck out for discovery. However, before arrival, they missed their connection and ended up delayed at the Bergen Airport in Norway.
Layovers are always inconvenient, but Norway presented a specific problem. “The exchange rate is so messed up a sandwich in the airport was like 40 bucks,” Gary said.
Given two food vouchers, they were sent looking for something to tide them over during the 10-hour hiatus.
They explored the airport for some time before encountering a shop selling little European baguette sandwiches; Robbie found one with brie, bacon and jam. “Strange combo,” Robbie said. “I would never think to do that. But it was so good.”
The combination went into the little library and became a family staple before it was one of Bird and Billy’s signature bocadillos, redeeming the infamous layover that at the time was considered an unwelcome disruption in their travel plans.
“I don’t think it’s particularly Norwegian,” Gary said, “but it stayed with us.”
They will soon open a shop just around the corner from the Coffee House offering a wider variety of bocadillo sandwiches. “Different charcuteries, fresh ingredients, more vegetables. Instead of three options we’ll have 10 to 15 options,” Gary said.
Expect them to continue drawing from their little library, doing what they know best and leaning into the hospitality that makes Bird and Billy a welcome rest stop, or layover, if you will, in downtown Kalispell.
