Page 17 - Flathead Beacon // 4.15.15

PRIDE
When O’Brien Byrd looks down Nu- cleus Avenue in the heart of the community that raised him, he sees a time capsule of his child- hood.
The old movie theater burned down and some of the storefronts have changed, but the quaint city cen- ter near Glacier National Park mostly appears as it al- ways has. Quaint.
“Having been born and raised in Columbia Falls, I look at the last 40 years and not much has changed here,” he said. “We still don’t really have a vibrant downtown area. You look at towns like Bigfork and Whitefish and they are thriving because they have found a way to capture the tourists. So what are we doing wrong?”
This is a rhetorical question. Byrd knows firsthand what’s gone wrong in Columbia Falls, but right now he’s much more focused on what the community is doing right.
A decade ago, Byrd opened O’Brien’s Liquor and Wine in downtown Columbia Falls, but then closed his doors a year later due to a lack of business. He and his wife, Melanie, relocated to a storefront off of U.S. Highway 2, on the main drag of town.
Business took off, and after 10 years of steady growth the Byrds recently moved to more capacious digs on the corner of U.S. Highway 2 and First Avenue West near the city center. They hope to strengthen the town’s pulse by ushering visitors toward the heart of the community, where they say it’s challenging to survive as a small business because visitors pass it by.
“When we opened 10 years ago, we couldn’t sur- vive in downtown,” he said. “That’s about to change. Things are different in Columbia falls now. There is a new energy. People are getting excited again. I think because of that people are starting to look toward Columbia Falls and go ‘Wow, something’s happening here.’”
To spur that change, and as a testament to Colum- bia Falls being poised on the cusp of a potential re- naissance, civic leaders and entrepreneurs are step- ping up and standing in solidarity to promote the community.
Don Bennett, president of Freedom Bank in Co- lumbia Falls, recently launched the Gateway Pride Project to help local businesses improve storefronts and enhance the appearance of the community.
Continued on next page
FLATHEADBEACON.COM
COVER APRIL 15, 2015 | 17
As renewed optimism emerges
and rises to the fore of economic development, business and civic leaders say Columbia Falls is poised for a renaissance BY TRISTAN SCOTT