The Western Cafe holds the title of being Bozeman, Montana’s longest-running restaurant. Operating since 1933 (and possibly earlier), the building at 443 E Main St has been serving meals for going on 100 years. It was known as The Eat a Bite, the Nickel Lunch, and the Cottage Cafe, all before becoming the iconic Western Cafe we know today.

In 2008, Sue Sabena took the reins of The Western Cafe and, alongside her daughter Julie Gandulla and a dedicated team, they have preserved this beloved diner as a beacon of Montana history. Julie, who recently relocated from Bozeman to Michigan due to rising home prices and property taxes, spoke with me over the phone to chat about what has changed at the Café, and what hasn’t.

If you haven’t been to The Western in a while, there’s no need to worry—it hasn’t changed. And if you do visit after reading this, be sure to tell Sue and the team hello from Bozeman Magazine. On my most recent visit, I had what I consider the perfect classic breakfast: the High Traverse, served with bacon, eggs over easy, sourdough toast, and hash browns.

Angie Ripple: How was The Western Cafe conceptualized? Since it’s been around so long, let’s start from when your family took over. What was the vision starting from there?

Julie Gandulla: Right, yeah. Well, that’s a good question. I don’t think people are really aware of what we walked into. The old owners were amazing, but they were… they were over it. So when we walked in the door, our vision was to take it back to what it was when I was little. And that was scratch cooking with local ingredients, and just revitalize it.

In 2008 we went in, cleaned it up, and got some new equipment in there that helped with the efficacy of it. We also spent the next decade rebuilding the building. It’s ancient, and was in severe disrepair, so we went in with love and elbow grease and put every dime we had into the building and the quality of the product. Just last year we put a new roof on.

[The concept is old school] You buy from your neighbors and you buy clean product. All of our eggs are local—one hundred percent local. We get them all throughout Montana, and that’s a pretty big feat for us, because we go through thousands of eggs. Doing it local and doing it where it’s not just local, but they’re actually free range. That’s what we do, and not a lot of people know that, but we feel like it’s the right way to go. We get money back to people throughout Montana, and to some in Idaho, cause, you know, we take a lot of eggs, so it kind of has to have a far reach. We feel like that’s how it ought to be, and that’s how it was. It’s not just like some newfangled green thing to do, or a hippie thing to do. No, that’s how it used to roll. That’s how it always used to be.

So we did that throughout the whole place. Everything down to [the fact that] my mom has a garden in back that helps with the watershed. We have completely compostable stuff. We don’t use any single use plastics. Our permeable sidewalk… all of our cleaning ingredients; I think over eighty percent of our cleaning ingredients are actually made in Montana.

So, we are always bringing it back to Montana.

AR: What would you like people to experience when they walk through your doors? 

JG: I’d like them to experience the real Montana. I’d like them to experience the neighborly place that I was raised in.
I was born in Bozeman; I was raised that when you drive past somebody, you wave. When you walk past them on a trail, you smile. When you sit next to them at a counter and eat, you talk. That’s what we hope people get—that sort of  neighborly feel, that feeling of acceptance. You can just walk in and be who you are; come as you are and enjoy it in a community.

AR: What would you say makes The Western unique in the Bozeman food scene? 

JG: I’d say the simple, home cooking. It’s really just wholesome, tasty, fresh food. And the breakfast-lunch scene, where it’s sort of like you roll on in and have eggs and hash browns (out of Manhattan); it’s nice just to have that kind of simple stuff.

And there’s room for all the others of course, as well, but I do think that’s what makes us unique—the scratch cooking, real, simple, fresh food. We do it on old school, cast iron and flat tops.

AR: What do regulars keep coming back for? 

JG: I mean, I do think it’s the food. We get nothing but compliments on our food. For instance, our biscuits and gravy, a total family recipe. And we’ve had people come in and say it’s the best biscuits and gravy they’ve ever had.

So I do think it’s the quality of the food, but I also think very much that the atmosphere harkens to a much simpler time. But I don’t mean that in the phrase that’s being flung about right now—that is about as opposite as I mean it. I think that, more than anything, when they walk into the cafe, they experience less noise.

There’s no internet, you know? My mom oftentimes will have people close their laptops, or put their phones down. She’s been known to go and take their phones and make them talk. There’s that community, that connection. So, fresh food, and community connection. You’re talking to people, sort of forced to do it by the owners. I think, more than anything right now, people are really starved for that. They’re starved for community, even though I know we’re bombarded all the time with people talking to us and having access to us. It’s a very, very different quality of interaction. So, when I say a simpler time, I mean more like quality over quantity.

AR: What menu item do regulars keep coming back for? 

JG: Chicken fried steak, hands down. Our chicken fried steak is excellent. That was my grandpa’s recipe, we just do it really, really well. And the sausage gravy goes over the top of it. So that’s a fantastic one.

AR: What is your personal favorite menu item?

JG: I really like our huevos. We make the salsa in house, and it’s so good. You know, simple… but really, really flavorful. And then I also like The Bobcat. We take our cinnamon rolls and cook them French-toast-style. Not so great for the pant line, but so fun.

AR: What do you personally enjoy most about being part of the Bozeman community? 

JG: Oh, geez, that’s hard. I mean, I love the mountains around us. I love that we all get to enjoy the rivers around us, the mountains around us. I mean, that’s the number one thing, honestly, for me. And having to move away makes me homesick. But when I come back every three months or so to help out with the cafe, that’s what I miss the most when I leave. Even though it’s changing, that’s in part why we left. I think that, at its core, Montana is still Montana. And I feel  privileged to be a part of a place like The Western, which keeps that light alive, almost like a lighthouse, or a candle lit for the community, to let people know we are Montana.

And I know that sounds silly because it’s a breakfast joint, but every time we choose something, it’s thoughtful. And that’s how I was raised. You keep your neighbors in mind. You know, I could buy eggs cheaper. I’m not going to do that. My success is their success.
Oh, I can build this sidewalk? I’m not gonna build it like we always have. It’s just a thoughtful thing I’m gonna do. I’m gonna build the first permeable sidewalk in Bozeman. That’s Montana. It’s thinking for each other long-term, and being that kind of steward.

Every step we take is in the spirit of that stewardship and community, and we’re not gonna go out without a fight. 

The Western Cafe isn’t just a place to grab a bite; it’s a piece of Bozeman’s history, a reminder of the town’s roots, a nostalgic place, and a gathering spot for locals and visitors alike. The Western remains a testament to the hard work, dedication, and community spirit that have shaped Bozeman over the years. Whether you’re a longtime regular or a first-time visitor, a stop at The Western Cafe promises a taste of history alongside a warm, welcoming atmosphere that’s truly hard to find anywhere else.