New coffee shop opens in Havre

Greg Wood has wanted to open a coffee shop for sometime, and his dream is now a reality.

Wood, who grew up in Havre but moved away before coming back a few years ago, said he thought about starting a coffee shop several times. However it wasn't until he moved back to Havre that he actually began laying the groundwork to do so.

"And it just seemed like the time and the place to do it," Wood said.

The 2nd Street Barista began serving customers, Saturday, March 5, though they didn't officially open until two days later.  

Wood owns the building at 324 2nd St. that houses the barista. Wood said he bought the two-floor building back in June 2014. It has two second-floor apartments and ample space in the back.

Wood and his girlfriend, Sheri Pexa, purchased the building for Pexa to use as space for the Guild Mortgage Company office she runs. Wood, a contractor, said he included the coffee shop in the initial plans for the renovation.

"When we first bought it, I told her it would be great to put a coffee shop in here," he said.

However, Wood said that between refurbishing the portion of the building that serves as Pexa's office and other projects, he didn't have time to concentrate on repairing the 600-square-foot space for the coffee shop.

"So it kind of got put on the backburner," he said.

Despite having no specific date set for an opening, Wood put the opening soon sign up last June. He said he thought it would have happened before March.

The Barista has seven part-time employees that Wood said range from high school age to retirees.

Coffee, tea and hot chocolate are served in three size cups: 16, 20 and 24 ounces. Cool beverages such as frappuccinos, smoothies and Italian sodas are also offered.

The coffee served is  from Montana MAID, a company out of Clancy, Montana, whose blends are all named after Montana rivers.

Wood said he carries fruit, and a small selection of pastries he buys each morning from the bakery at Gary & Leo's Fresh Foods.

The shop's ambience with its soft light is more like a trendy coffee house one would find in a coastal college community rather than in a railroad town with a Wild West history such as Havre.

The counters are a white and tan stacked stone, while milled scrap wood is used for wood trim and a pergola is suspended above the checkout counter. Three tall tables are pushed into the corners. The walls are white and rather than paintings of mountain ranges or rugged western landscapes, a close-up picture of coffee beans pouring forth from a coffee cup adorns the wall.

Wood however, has other ambitions for the little coffee shop. Come summer he wants to put bistro tables out on the sidewalk for patrons. If the shop generates enough business, Wood said he would like to transform a portion of the 2,100-square-foot basement into a lounge area, broken up into separate seating areas where patrons can socialize, do work or otherwise just relax while they drink their coffee. He said at some point they might even hold open mic nights.

Wood said he welcomes all patrons, but the student body at Northern is the part of the population from whom he has heard the most enthusiasm.

"I've talked to a lot of college students and they are so excited about the idea of having a place to come," Wood said.

He said he would also look at installing a small kitchen. At some point, he added, there is an area of the basement partitioned off by a thick wall that would make a good conference room that people could use.

But he said those plans are a more long-term.

With his business a little less than two weeks old he is still dealing with what he calls the "hiccups" of opening a business.

For example, the tables he ordered turned out to be shorter than the chairs he ordered separately. There was the coffee maker he bought for the shop's drip coffee that he thought worked well, only to find out that its tank needs to be repaired. And then there was what Wood describes as the "nightmare" of scouring the Internet for a vendor selling a lid that could fit all the cups available to customers.

Wood said it took hours of research for him to find a manufacturer who sold and could deliver such a lid in a timely manner.

"It was just one thing after another, but those are the kind of hiccups you go through," he said. "Just when you think you got things handled it's something else."

He said, however, that he thinks such challenges are part of any business.

To get the word out, Wood said they have set up a Facebook page for the shop and  have sent out one of their employees to distribute menus to about 150 businesses in Havre.

And so far business is good.

Wood said Tuesday that in their first two weeks open their flow of customers has ranged from as little as 70 to as many as 130 customers a day.   The 2nd Street Barista is open Monday through Saturday from 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sundays 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.