Bakery, winery win state ag grants

Two local businesses are benefiting from state grants that will help them build better, more sustainable businesses in the future.

Polebridge Mercantile and Bakery and Glacier Sun Winery received grant and loan awards through the Growth Through Agriculture program. The awards program was created to help non-traditional businesses in food and agriculture industries access capital.

Polebridge Mercantile and Bakery, based in Polebridge, was awarded a $20,000 grant to assist with the expansion of bakery operations to its new location at Stumptown Market in downtown Whitefish.

“This is a great program, and we were so excited to be selected as one of the recipients,” owner Will Hammerquist said. “The grant definitely made this expansion doable.”

The Polebridge Mercantile was founded in Polebridge just outside Glacier National Park by Bill Adair in 1914. The huckleberry bear claws and other baked goods became a staple for travelers entering or leaving the park, as well as locals willing to make the trek to the remote town.

In recent years the mercantile brought its bear claws to the Whitefish Farmers Market every Tuesday, which required bakers to travel to Whitefish weekly to deliver the baked goods.

In November  the mercantile opened a Whitefish location with the opening of the Stumptown Market.

The new location allows the mercantile to expand its reach to hungry customers and make items as fresh as possible for the summer farmers market.

“Quality means being fresh, and fresh means being local,” Hammerquist said.

The grant will help pay for a new oven, coolers, display cases and other costs associated with the new start-up location, according to the owner.

The Whitefish location currently employs one full-time and two part-time employees, but Hammerquist expects to hire more workers as the tourist season begins.

The money also will help buy the massive amounts of huckleberries and local produce required for the baked goods.

“We always use a lot of Montana produce whenever we can,” Hammerquist said. “We’re all about local foods.”

The Stumptown Market bakery is located at 12 Spokane Ave., and is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The Polebridge location is operating on winter hours, open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day. For more information on the mercantile, visit online at www.polebridgemerc.com.

Glacier Sun Winery in Kalispell was awarded a loan and grant totaling $25,000 to assist with the expansion of the wine-producing facility.

“We’re absolutely tickled to death, if you couldn’t tell,” said president and self-proclaimed “head honcho” David Cordell.

The winery, a sister company to the Apple Barrel Country Market, plans to use the money to fund additional storage systems for its wines. Red wines take two years to age, and white wines take a year, so the company needs ample place to house its products during the aging process.

“The choke-point for wineries is always storage,” Cordell said. “But this is going to open all sorts of different markets for us.”

Previously Glacier Sun Winery has only been able to sell its products on-site, but with additional storage, the company will look into selling wholesale and allowing restaurants to carry its products.

The winery received a matching grant for $12,500, in which the state will match up to $12,500 spent toward the winery’s goal. The company was also awarded a $12,500 low-interest loan for storage equipment, to be paid back over five years.

Right now, the business plans to use the money to purchase stainless-steel tanks, oak barrels and a press.

“It’s going to be great to really ramp up the winery,” Cordell said. “We started this project five years ago, and now we’re going to be able to continue to grow it.”

Glacier Sun Winery received the Rural Energy for America Program grant five years ago to build a more energy-efficient building.

The winery tasting room is open Thursday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. For more information, visit online at www.applebarrelmt.com.

The Growth Through Agriculture program awarded $208,700 in grants and loans to businesses that vowed to add value to agricultural-related projects and create or retain jobs within the state.

The six grant recipients were businesses and projects across Montana, selected by the Agriculture Development Council.

“Agriculture is not only at the heart of Montana’s communities, it is part of the backbone of our state’s economy,”  Gov. Steve Bullock said in a press release. “These awards will allow these businesses to expand and enhance their operations, increasing demand for Montana agricultural products, creating jobs and introducing these products to new markets.”

The grant program falls under one of the pillars in the Main Street Montana Project, which Bullock helped found in 2013. The project aims to create a transparent economic development plan, seeking to fulfill the need of Montana businesses, not the government. The mission of the project is to develop a plan for supporting new and sustaining jobs throughout the state.

The Growth Through Agriculture program supports Main Street Montana by increasing accessibility to local, national and international markets, as well as support the growth and continued supply of state jobs.  

Other recipients include the Western Montana Growers Cooperative in Arlee, The University of Montana in Missoula, Duckworth Inc. in Bozeman and Philipsburg Brewing Co. in Philipsburg.

The next Growth Through Agriculture application deadline is Sept. 15. Interested food and agriculture businesses can learn more online at www.agr.mt.gov/agr/programs

Reporter Brianna Loper may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at bloper@dailyinterlake.com.