For the last 20+ years, Nova Café has been a staple in downtown Bozeman, but the breakfast and lunch spot is shutting its doors.
Signs posted on the door and window of the establishment read “Nova Café is permanently closed.”
Serena Rundberg founded Nova Café when she moved to Bozeman in 2005: “I shouldn’t get emotional; it’s a little bit sad.”
Watch the video here:
She explained, “We started out with, like, a dime and a lot of ambition. We worked really, really hard days and weeks and months on end every day. Over the years, built it up to be quite the institution in downtown Bozeman, and we’re really proud of that."
She founded Nova Café because of her love for food.
“I was in a different career in California at the time and really looking for a change… something that could use more of my creative ideas,” she said.
Over the years, Rundberg says she built a lifelong community through Nova Café, from hosting spaghetti dinners for the climbing community to dance parties to benefit local non-profits.
She sold Nova Café in 2020.
“The Nova family, the Nova people that worked there, the people that dined there, were my chosen family, so many of them,” said Rundberg.
It’s a significant reason Rundberg is sad to see the restaurant close.
“It was sad to see it go when I sold it, but it’s really sad to think that it might not be around ever again,” said Rundberg.
She hopes it will be replaced by another local spot.
“It is sad to see more corporate food and dining coming into town, to be honest,” said Rundberg. “The craftsmanship gets lost a little bit.”
Whether it’s the “Morning After” waffle with bacon and eggs, “The Forager” omelet with bacon, or the pancakes, some locals already miss it.
One Reddit user said Nova Café had the best pancakes. Another asked for the recipe for the “chia waffle that haunts my dreams.”
MTN tried to contact the current owners of Nova Café for comment but did not receive a response.
A spokesperson for the Downtown Bozeman Association told MTN News, “I have noticed changes there and know they had been experimenting with new hours of service and then saw a closure sign.”
As for what Rundberg wants the Bozeman community to know: “It would be thank you. We appreciate you. We love you,” she said.
“We’re so genuinely proud and happy to have been a part of the Bozeman community for so long.”
