Columbia Falls bakery and cafe Uptown Hearth returns

“It was said that if your dreams don’t scare you, you didn’t dream big enough. This thing scared me about four million times. But everyone kept showing up, pitching in and getting through the rough spots,” said Uptown Hearth’s original owner Terri Feury. After about four years of being closed, the Columbia Falls business has reopened its doors. 

Feury originally worked out of the back of the Nucleus Avenue building, baking. After 15 years of that, she remodeled the space to allow for a retail bakery and cafe in 2016. They were open three days a week, serving breakfast and coffee. Matthew Bussard began renting a space for his mobile coffee cart there, and the business grew organically. 

When 2020 rolled around, a combination of the pandemic and an eye for the future closed Uptown Hearth.  

“When we closed down and were trying to get open again in the spring of ’21, we realized we had longterm challenges that we may as well address. I owned the lot, we’d outgrown our space — the coffee bar was too small, and I’m older, so it wasn’t going to be my future,” Feury said. 

She asked Bussard if he saw a future there, and together, they decided to rebuild the business with longevity and sustainability in mind. They asked a pair of their loyal customers, Chas Brandt and Hillary Sheldon, to bring their coffee roasting to Uptown Hearth. 

“We came here all the time. It was the best coffee in the valley, and the bakery was excellent,” said Brandt, who along with his wife has a 20-plus year background in coffee roasting. “They just asked me and I said ‘yes.’”

The project didn’t just grow Uptown Hearth’s products, an entire new three-story building was erected on the lot with room for roasting, seating, and upstairs, co-working office spaces with a view down main street. 

“We’ve got this great space that people love to gather in, and having a workspace above kind of fit,” Bussard said. 

“It’s the future,” Brandt added. “Cafes have always been on the forefront of people working from home. We’re just going to take advantage of that.”

The short-term work spaces are available to rent by the hour or day, with private offices available on a monthly basis. They have high-speed internet, printers, and are open even when the cafe is closed with PIN code access. A number of the designated desks already have interested renters. 

“This time, we were able to step back and plan it better, and think longterm, so we hope it will resonate. We’re very proud,” Feury said.

The business was able to benefit from a Montana Board of Investment Loan, with help from Freedom Bank, which utilizes moneys from the coal tax trust fund to help small businesses that are creating jobs. Uptown Hearth has already hired Jake and Becky Sorensen as their head chefs along with bakery staff, and plan to have more job opportunities as they grow. 

Despite all the new changes, Uptown Hearth is still set to serve its founding breads and pastries. High-quality European-style hearth breads and delicious pastries made with local and organic ingredients will be featured in the breakfast and lunch menu. 

Feury was born in Whitefish and grew up in Columbia Falls during the 50s and 60s when Columbia Falls was bustling. 

“It was a very busy uptown, so to help bring that back, the vibrancy, means the world to me,” she said. “[The community members] are the ones that kept us going, because they really liked Uptown Hearth, and the fact that it was an anchor, a gathering place where everybody is welcome, and they knew they could count on us. So I’m very proud of that. We aimed for the stars.”

Uptown Hearth is located at 619 Nucleus Avenue. Hours are 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., seven days a week. For more information, visit https://uptownhearth.com/

    Uptown Hearth pastries set out for guests at the Sneak Peak Preview Party of the business’s new building on Nucleus Avenue Thursday, Feb. 15. (Avery Howe photo)
 Avery Howe   

    The Uptown Hearth staff works on creating focaccia for their guests at the Sneak Peak Preview Party Thursday, Feb. 15. (Avery Howe photo)
 Avery Howe   

    From the new third story of Uptown Hearth, all of Nucleus Avenue is visible. The space has been designed as a co-working area, where people can rent out an office area with wifi for an hour or a month. (Avery Howe photo)
 Avery Howe   

    Guests tour the new Uptown Hearth building and try out their food during the sneak peek preview party Thursday, Feb. 15. (Avery Howe photo)
 Avery Howe