Welcome to Uptown Hearth.
You expect to find words like this on an establishment open for business. But while on some doors “welcome” is nothing more than a request for you to come in and buy something, on the door of Uptown Hearth, it’s a genuine invitation.
Since 2016, anyone spending time in Columbia Falls has felt the warmth of that invitation. That’s not by accident. Matthew Bussard has helped steer Uptown Hearth to this position quite consciously by serving coffee, espresso and tea and full breakfast and lunch with a characteristic level of human engagement.
“This is a great medium for connecting with friends, community and strangers. I like to think of it as I’m kind of the morning daytime bartender,” says Matthew.
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Matthew is not originally from Montana but, like so many others, he felt its draw and has never looked back. Having spent his career in the coffee business, it was a natural fit when he joined forces with Terri Feury, a baker and the original owner of Uptown Hearth, to add coffee to the bakery’s offerings. Together, they have made this into something truly special. Terri is originally from Columbia Falls, and having grown up here, she was well aware of the need for something like this in the area — a place not only for quality pastries and coffee, but somewhere people felt comfortable to linger, catch up on emails, have a meeting or read a book.
By 2020, it was clear their concept was good. So good, in fact, they needed to expand their space. The process took three years, and during that time, the people of Columbia Falls made it known that Uptown Hearth was sorely missed. Of course, their patience has paid off and now there’s more to love.
And not just more space. Adding two floors, as well as more room on the ground floor, has allowed an expansion of what Uptown Hearth offers to the people of Columbia Falls. With two additional floors to work with, they’ve tried something altogether new — for the owners of Uptown Hearth, at least. Instead of building it out as condos or Airbnb units, they’ve created a co-working space where folks can find flexible work setups as well as chances to network and collaborate. With the bakery and cafe, top-tier coffee, and work space, they've created a community gathering space, where locals are greeted by name and you quickly establish loyalty to a favorite item on the menu. (We recommend the Soba Bowl.)
“The goal was to make it almost something that would feel like a work-from-home situation or a hybrid space,” explains Matthew.
The expansion has also had a direct effect on the café operation as well. Noticing there weren’t a lot of coffee roasters in the area, Uptown Hearth decided to add it to the equation. Enter Chas Brandt. A master coffee roaster, he had been interested in getting involved with Uptown Hearth ever since visiting the area back in 2017. After moving his family to Montana from Colorado, the perfect union was set. Working with an importer, Chas is able to get beans from growers in coffee regions around the world and work his magic right here in Montana, small batch after small batch after small batch.
If you find yourself in Columbia Falls, stop in and check out what’s going on at Uptown Hearth, if for no other reason than to stop in and say hi to Matthew.
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