Cut Bank's Fall Is Running Through One Main Street Building

At 13 East Main St. you can buy a Made in Montana gift, stop by Arkaidy's Fresh Kitchen or CharChar Asian Store and get a cup of Folklore Coffee roasted in Conrad, all without going back out the front door. Rod and Lisa Cline opened Marketplace on Main there in 2023. The Cut Bank Pioneer Press describes it as a local-products marketplace that also works as a small-business incubator.

That one address now carries a big share of Cut Bank's everyday downtown life. Elsewhere in town, the places people gather are partway through repairs and are being funded one grant or donation drive at a time. Fall 2026 shows both halves clearly.

Six Businesses Behind One Front Door

A September 2026 Pioneer Press profile of Lisa Cline lists the businesses that share the building:

• Arkaidy's Fresh Kitchen
• CharChar Asian Store
• Coyote Queen Boutique
• Anna's Stash
• Montana IV
• The coffee and tea shop, which serves Folklore Coffee from Conrad, teas from Lake Missoula Tea Company and treats from Whistle Stop Bakery in Shelby

The marketplace itself also sells local art, food and Made in Montana products. Look at the supply chain behind the coffee counter. Coffee comes from Conrad, pastries come from Shelby and tea comes from Missoula. One shop on Main Street ties together small producers across north-central Montana.

The coffee shop's name shows up in local coverage spelled two ways, Artique Brew and Antique Brew. If you're trying to find it, ask for the coffee counter at Marketplace on Main.

The Building Is Planning Its Next Stage

In August 2026, Lisa Cline found out she had been accepted as a Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses scholar. According to the Pioneer Press, 70 Montana businesses applied and 40 were accepted. To apply, she submitted financial statements and tax returns, wrote about the business's operations, challenges and goals, and did a virtual interview.

Her stated goals for the program are practical. She wants a growth plan, a business that banks will lend to and stronger online sales. For a building with six tenants, a lender-ready parent business matters more than it would for a single shop. If the marketplace grows, the businesses inside it have more room to grow with it.

The address has been a downtown anchor for a while. In 2024, Glacier County's economic development group ran a shop-local campaign called Shop Glacier County. Every two weeks it picked a featured business, put up signage and an entry box there, and let customers sign up for a drawing for a $100 gift card. The very first featured business was 2d Art Studio, listed at 13 East Main.

First Friday Is Where Downtown Becomes a Classroom

First Friday is a monthly community night of classes taught by local residents. It's run with Cut Bank School District Adult Education and Cultivate Cut Bank, and the marketplace posts the class lineup on its own events page. The Oct. 2 session ran 6 to 8 p.m. with three classes:

1. Rag Garland with Barbara Claybourn
2. Painting Fall Sunflowers with Shannon Johnson
3. Bundle Dyed Silk Scarf with Jessica Seifert

The event finished its fourth year in May 2026. Last season it used several spaces around town: Marketplace on Main, Quilts Happen, the Glacier Community Health Center Behavioral Health lounge, and the FACS and art classrooms at Cut Bank High School. In July, the First Friday group painted two city dumpsters from July 22 to 26, using geometric designs by Shannon Johnson and Kim Winchell.

The money for this kind of programming comes in small pieces. Cultivate Cut Bank's arts grant was set to pay for music at the Aug. 15 Downtown Food, Art & Music Fest and to support First Friday, with the goal of bringing more life downtown. FAM Fest ran 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Central Park and on the first block of North Central. Cultivate Cut Bank also held its first Quick Finish art event there.

As of early October, no First Friday dates after Oct. 2 had been posted.

Everywhere Else, the Work Is Still Being Paid For

The 13 East Main model works because the building is already open. Most of Cut Bank's other gathering places are somewhere in the middle. At the Sept. 14 council meeting, nearly every one came up as a work in progress:

The Penguin Hotel is the one most likely to change how downtown feels. Easterling told the council on Aug. 31 that he had bought the hotel and hoped to open 12 rooms, with the rear wing used as housing for low-income retirees. At the Sept. 14 meeting, he said he was raising money and aiming to finish by spring. Police Chief Mike Schultz offered to connect him with the Port Authority for help applying for grants.

The fire department's project is a good example of how the town gets things built. Fire Chief Jimmy Littrell applied for a Town Pump grant, and the Cut Bank Fire Department was awarded $20,000 toward a training facility made from Conex boxes. The council heard that the building could help lower the city's ISO rating, which affects insurance, and could also hold an extra fire truck. According to Littrell, the facility will go on the east end of the existing fire hall, and donations plus the grant are enough to pour the concrete foundation.

At the same meeting, the Port Authority said it is starting a shop-local program. It will pick local businesses to feature and hold a $100 gift card drawing for customers who shop at them. Businesses that want to be featured can apply. The 2026 program's name and its first featured businesses haven't been announced. On the sports complex, the mayor said the committee is looking into grants set aside for kids' parks.

The Fall Calendar, Dated

The calendar for the rest of the year follows the same pattern. Churches, the Chamber and individual volunteers carry it, and the events are spread across town:

Cozy Warm Ups shows how small these efforts can be and still work. One local crocheter makes scarves for kids ages 4 to 8 and partners with Elisha Dempsey of the Sagebrush Food Pantry to get them to families. Donated scarves need to be gently used, with no tears, holes, stains or pet hair.

"I wanted to make something that could bring warmth to a child who might really need it," the creator of Cozy Warm Ups told the Pioneer Press.

The project also welcomes people who want to crochet or knit scarves themselves. Check the library's website or Facebook page for drop-off days and hours.

What Gets Decided Between Now and Spring

Several things should become clear over the next few months. They include the next First Friday date, the businesses the Port Authority picks for its first features, and when classes start at the Civic Center. The biggest is whether the Penguin Hotel reaches its spring target. If it opens 12 rooms, downtown will have a second building drawing people to Main Street. Until then, much of Cut Bank's downtown activity this fall goes through 13 East Main.

Lynn Kenyon and the Live In Montana team keep track of what's opening, what's being rebuilt and what's still raising money on Main Street, because that's how we know a town. If you want to talk about what Cut Bank's downtown projects could mean for your corner of Glacier County, connect with a Montana expert.