SHELBY — The Prairie Peddler Coffee and Gift Shop will reopen its doors this weekend after a fire destroyed their original home in January 2024, marking a triumphant return for the beloved Shelby business.
Owner Kelli Lohr said the fire was devastating and left the future looked uncertain.
"It was pretty devastating. And we weren't quite sure what was going to happen, but it was pretty hard for us to sit and watch everything, that day and not knowing what was going to happen after that," Lohr said.
Her son Klayton Lohr received the shocking news through a text from a neighbor: "'Your mom's store is on fire.' And so I alerted my parents and, and in the town, we came. And, by the time we got here, the fire department was busy fighting the fire and just, a lot to take in in a short amount of time," Klayton said.
The community immediately rallied around the family to offer support.
"The amount of texts and calls that we were getting of people offering to help, haul stuff out, do whatever we needed help with. It was, nothing short of incredible," Klayton said.
The family was able to secure a new location for their business after purchasing a building that had been for sale.
"We purchased this building and it was on sale for quite some time. And so we we've always thought that this would be a wonderful place for a coffee shop. And so we did purchase that, last April," Kelli said.
Now, Kelli is eager to reconnect with the community she has missed serving.
"I am so looking forward to it because I'm a people person and I love visiting with all of our customers and our friends that come in each day. I've really missed that. And the employees, we are all very close," she said.
Klayton emphasized that customers are treated like family at Prairie Peddler, which he believes is essential for small businesses in rural Montana.
"It's more important to shop where you feel valued. And every customer that walks through that door feels like the most important customer, because that's how my mom and, all of her employees treat them. And because they are without them, a place like this couldn't, survive and thrive in, in rural Montana," Klayton said.
The Prairie Peddler Coffee and Gift Shop will host its grand opening Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
