Page 37 - Flathead Beacon // 4.8.15

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BUSINESS
APRIL 8, 2015 | 37
Sarah Bell, left, and Laura Smith set up patio furniture at the Coffee Traders location in downtown Kalispell. GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
service that will run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Friday. The delivery zone will be from the Kalispell Regional Healthcare campus to downtown, Austin Baumgarten, manager of the Kalispell MCT location, said.
“We’re expanding the breakfast and the lunch menus,” Baumgarten said. “We try to buy locally as much as we can.”
Local foods on the menus include vegetables and other goodies from the Western Montana Growers Cooperative, milk and dairy products from Kalispell Kreamery, honey from Glacier County Honey Co., and pork from Farm to Market.
Coffee Traders first opened with its roaster loca- tion on U.S. Highway 93 just south of Whitefish in 1981. Other locations include the café in Columbia Falls and the coffeehouse in Whitefish.
The Kalispell location opened up in 1989 in what was originally a retail outlet space, and was just serv- ing coffee and some soups. The Knead Café, now a Ka- lispell staple, opened there in the mid-90s, Hunt said, and once the Knead left the space to go on its own, the Coffee Traders staff took over the kitchen.
Since then, the Kalispell location has become known for its breakfast selections and lunch options, including a popular rotating selection of curries and food with Asian flair.
In her time working with Coffee Traders, Hunt said the company has seen businesses come and go in Ka- lispell as the economy fluctuates. It’s flattering to be considered a mainstay in the community, she said, but it’s also important to continue to evolve with the times.
There was a point in time when Coffee Traders could have moved from its current location to the booming business area in North Kalispell, where space is limited and in demand.
“We have realized that we are a downtown busi- ness,” Hunt said.
This realization was underscored when the new Starbucks opened its doors last year, just down Center Street from the Coffee Traders location. If anything, the competition has boosted the business at MCT, Baumgarten and Hunt said.
In the dust and noise of the renovations last week,
Baumgarten said the café’s regulars have made ap- pearances, popping their heads in to see how it’s all go- ing, and, more importantly, when it would be done so they could get back to their routines.
“Our customers have been very supportive,” he said.
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