MISSOULA — A popular Missoula coffee shop closed its doors late last fall, but the good news for fans of Clyde Coffee is that it's temporary.
Soon, they'll reopen at a new and much bigger location – and will have a new addition to its services.
With bigger things in mind, Clyde Coffee owner Glenda Bradshaw closed their only location near the intersection of Higgins and Fourth Street in Missoula shortly before Thanksgiving.
That location saw a successful six-year run, but it wasn’t meeting Bradshaw’s original vision.
“Although we love the original Clyde location, it was really geared to have students and people come in and work and have meetings,” Bradshaw explained. “There really wasn’t a good curbside set-up and ordering outside became really difficult when the weather changed.”
While scouting new locations, Bradshaw says the impacts of COVID-19 came into play. Like other local business owners she has spoken to, the need for more space for distancing -- and for more outdoor seating is more necessary than ever.
Bradshaw landed at a building located at the intersection of Higgins and Sixth Street.
“We have a good curbside set-up, we have parking in the back, two of the spaces are devoted for curbside pickup, we have tons of patio space,” Bradshaw said. “In fact, we’ll have more outdoor seating at the new location than we had indoor seating at the old location.”
While more open space both indoors and outdoors along with curbside service are big upgrades from the old location perhaps the biggest factor and the one nearest to Bradshaw’s heart is the ability to roast her own coffee.”
“I have always wanted to roast my own coffee kind of right from the beginning, and between sort of life and being a mother and having another full-time job that was never possible, but really we were limited in the old space,” Bradshaw said. “I also just like the idea of expanding what Clyde is able to offer internally.”
Bradshaw hopes to sell her store roasted coffee at local businesses throughout Missoula.
Now, it’s just a waiting game. The approval of city permits -- and subsequent work inside the new building has yet to take place -- but Bradshaw is optimistic they’ll be ready to go for the warmer months ahead.
“I would love to be opened up when the weather changes so as soon as spring comes, April or May at the longest,” Bradshaw told MTN News.
While the numbers aren't exact yet, Bradshaw believes the new location's capacity is at least two times the capacity of the original building.
