GREAT FALLS — Coffee lovers in Great Falls can now get a double shot of their favorite espresso inspired drink. Crooked Tree Coffee is opening a second location.
For a dozen years, it's been a go to place for coffee lovers downtown, and the owners are banking on similar success in a shop at 4117 Second Avenue North on the east end of town, the building formerly occupied by Five Loaves Coffee.
For Crooked Tree owners Leah McCloskey and Lindsay Hager, it’s a case of coming full circle.
“I was part of the original group that opened Five Loaves here,” said McCloskey. “I was with Five Loaves for five years.”
Lindsay also worked at Five Loaves.
The second Crooked Tree isn’t fully open yet, that will happen December 5th. But the staff has still been hard at work getting ready.
“Right now, we wanted to open the drive thru to get practice because we don't have a drive through downtown,” said Hager. “We wanted to do some training with our staff so that when we do open we feel prepared.”
Beginning with a staff of about five working winter hours from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, customers can expect much of the same service and offerings at the new location.
“The coffee menu is going to be basically the same. The pastries will be same as downtown, but not quite as extensive of a variety as downtown,” said McCloskey.
Like Five Loaves before it, Crooked Tree 2 hopes to capitalize on traffic from Malmstrom Air Force Base.
And like the original Crooked Tree downtown, they hope to do that with excellent customer service.
“When customers come in, they know that their latte or their pastry is going to taste just as good as when they came in a couple of days ago, it'll be just as good,” said Hager.
The pair also feels a key to success in business is giving back to the community.
“We donate our day-old pastries to the rescue mission,” said McCloskey. “Community involvement is very important for us to give back.”
The Montana natives who attended the Montana Wilderness School of the Bible just outside of Augusta are happy to use an inspirational place as a namesake for their business.
“When you hike back into the Bob Marshall from that school, there is this little place that we as a school called Crooked Tree and it's right on the Dearborn River,” said Hager. “It's just a very beautiful place to be.”
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