Dave and Jennie Lockie, partners and owners of Mountain Arts Pottery and the Coffee Pot Café have watched their company grow from a kiln and a Studio in an old chicken coop in their back yard to a quaint little store on Highway 191, seven miles from Bozeman on the way to Big Sky and Yellowstone National Park.

When the business was in the back yard of their home, the accouterments consisted mostly of a 15-passenger van for carrying their four kids and all the boxes of pottery and the display racks necessary to set up at art shows within a 300 mile radius of Bozeman.

Several years after the start up, the business was expanded into producing pottery to sell at wholesale shows from Los Angeles to Chicago. With that enlargement, a trailer hitch and a small trailer were added to the parade. Mountain Arts was doing about 50% of their sales at retail art shows, fairs, and Farmer’s Markets, and about 50% in wholesale shows where the Lockies would display their samples to buyers at Gift Shows around the United States. It was an exhausting routine, but was what it took to grow the business.

After about 17 years of producing and marketing pottery, and watching those four kids grow up and leave home (mostly!), the Lockies began to discuss, “What if we had a store where we could sell our own pottery on a daily basis?” David’s back and physical health was not great, and deteriorating yearly. Age and time had taken a toll on the Lockie’s eagerness to load everything in the van and the trailer and set up – and take down – a weekly, temporary pottery Store, and it became obvious that something would have to change sooner or later.

The Lockies looked at half a dozen places to rent in downtown Bozeman, but were disappointed time after time when things fell through. Then, after 23 years of operating out of their back yard they discovered a little log cabin for sale with an acre of land. It seemed to be in a good location, though not in Bozeman as they had hoped. It was 9 miles south west of Bozeman on the main highway to Yellowstone National Park and Big Sky, with highway access.
The cabin was very rough, and had been neglected for years, a fact that no doubt contributed to few serious buyers who were interested in the property. Dave and Jennie made the leap, purchased the cabin and after two months of intense remodeling, tearing out walls, hauling trash to the dump, painting, landscaping, and repair, they opened up their own store on May 31, 2003. That first year Dave kept the studio operating in Bozeman, and Jennie drove out to the cabin every day to run their Store. The next summer, they moved the studio out to the new location, built another kiln and began to make pottery at the new Store.

Many people began to stop on their way to Yellowstone, and after realizing that the location was truly a blessing and superior to the original idea of opening a store in Bozeman, a decision was made to add a Coffee Shop to the operation. In talking and thinking about how they could diversify and increase business, Jennie began to talk about baking a few cinnamon rolls and cookies. Jennie had been a serious competitor in the Montana Winter Fair baking division and consistently won awards for her rolls, cakes and cookies.

As people realized that there was coffee and good baked treats at Mountain Arts, more people started buying her rolls and it wasn’t long before Jennie needed help, so they hired their first baker, Allie Donaldson. The Bakery menu expanded to include homemade Pies, Turnovers, Scones, etc. Eventually, it seemed that Soup and Bread would be a good addition to the Bakery, and head baker, Marci Gehring had a real gift for making great homemade soups. A very unique menu began to develop which included Chicken Pot Pie, two kinds of Quiche, two to three home made Soups each day served with the popular Nine Grain Rolls, as well as several kinds of Sandwiches.
Along with The Coffee Pot Bakery Café, Mountain Arts offers handmade jewelry, wallets, soaps, candles, quilts and more. Tours are offered at the Studio for those who might enjoy watching the potters turn
a lump of clay into a beautiful, functional piece of pottery.

Just this summer The Coffee Pot Bakery Café and Mountain Arts Pottery has increased their square footage and made their bakery area three times larger, added a small office, an extra restroom and a new,  larger commercial stove which greatly proved efficiency. As the Store continues to expand and more items are available, the Lockie’s desire is that they would never forget their humble beginnings and that they would maintain their gratitude to God and to the customers who have made their business succeed.

The Coffee Pot Bakery Café and Mountain Arts Pottery is located on Highway 191, 1.1 mile south of Four Corners between milepost 80 and 81. For ordering, call 406 522-7707