It’s buckin’ good: Cowgirl Coffee opens eighth location in Flathead Valley
MAGGIE MERCER Whitefish Pilot | Whitefish Pilot | UPDATED 3 months AGO
Cowgirl Coffee, a drive-through coffee shop, has opened its eighth location in the Flathead Valley in downtown Columbia Falls.
The coffee shop first opened in 2002 on Wisconsin Avenue in Whitefish. It now has locations in Whitefish, Columbia Falls and Kalispell.
Shea Fast, the founder, is excited to announce that the newest location in Columbia Falls will have a walk-in option as well as a drive-through.
“It’s going to kind of be a Cowgirl 2.0,” Fast said.
The new shop will have a sit-down option as well as an extended food menu which she hopes will eventually include healthy, grab and go breakfast food as well as dirty soda drinks.
Fast moved to Whitefish in 1995 from Utah after a visit to Whitefish Mountain Resort as a professional snowboarder for a photoshoot with a women’s focused magazine.
“I really thought Whitefish was a cute little town,” she said.
After an injury forced her to retire from the slopes, she revisited her love for espresso.
“Coffee was kind of my thing,” she said. “I love starting businesses.”
Fast never expected that she was going to expand the coffee shop so much. But when looking back, she states that she wishes that she would have expanded sooner.
“I hesitated in expanding to Kalispell way too long,” she said. She was and still is focused on making sure that the shop remains local.
As Cowgirl continues expanding and growing, Fast said she will continue to prioritize her employees. She says that she loves witnessing her employees learn and grow through their work.
She encourages her employees to “fail forward” and “embrace challenges.”
“I really do enjoy watching people learn and build their confidence and step into their power,” she said. “It means a lot to me that people have a good time at work, and it’s such a fun job.”
Fast also wants to continue prioritizing customer service so that it is a positive experience from all sides.
“Cowgirl is rooted in good customer service,” she said.
When reflecting on the many years since Cowgirl first opened its doors in 2002, Fast believes that her biggest accomplishment has been her ability to employ the community, and she wants to continue prioritizing this. Across all locations, Cowgirl Coffee currently has over 60 employees.
“Every personality is different,” Fast said. “Everyone brings something different to the table. That's what a team is, every single person is different.”
She is excited to continue being involved in the community and growing partnerships with other companies. Recently, Cowgirl has grown a great partnership with the new owners of the Majestic Valley Arena. With that, Cowgirl Coffee will make an appearance in the VIP section at Under the Big Sky this year.
The new location is now open at 700 Ninth St. W. in Columbia Falls.
