Mill, Bakery Keeps Busy at Wheat Montana

While there were times business was slow at the Wheat Montana Deli locations during the early stages of the Covid-19 Pandemic, things stayed strong in the mill and bakery located in Three Forks.

According to Customer Service Manager Amy Danielsen, because Wheat Montana is an essential business, they were allowed to keep the mill and bakery running normally, with some employee precautions.

"Most people were very supportive and patient during the lockdown. Luckily while the deli business was slow, our bakery and mill were very busy. People on lockdown were purchasing more bread, flour, cereal, etc., to prepare meals at home," she said.

Danielson noted there was a lot of confusion and nervousness in the early stages, but they were proactive with the mask requirements and making sure their employees were safe and healthy.

The Three Forks Deli remained open for drive-through service and take-out orders during the statewide lockdown. After Governor Steve Bullock lifted Phase 1restrictions, Danielsen witnessed an increase in sales but said it was not huge. She added a more significant increase in sales at the deli happened during the middle of summer and into the fall, when people were traveling by car for their 2020 vacations.

Looking towards the future, Danielsen isn't sure things will ever return to the 'old normal' again but is looking forward to more social events and restaurants having larger capacities.

"Hopefully, people will continue to travel and stop by while on vacation," she said.

As far as the statewide and local mask restrictions, Danielsen did not feel they were bad to implement but did have a handful of upset customers.

"But for the most part, our customers and employees have handled that change well. We want to keep everyone safe so we can keep our doors open," she said.

The company is also very thankful for support during the pandemic from both new and long-time customers.

"We would like to thank all of our wonderful customers that continued to buy Wheat Montana Products throughout the last year. Life is different and has been difficult for a lot of people. We appreciate all of our customers no matter how near or far away they are," Danielsen said.

ABOUT WHEAT MONTANA

Wheat Montana is a bakery and mill that supplies a variety of products throughout the United States.

Danielsen said most people know Wheat Montana for the fresh bread that is delivered in grocery stores all over Montana, but they also distribute frozen bread to foodservice customers in Washington, Oregon, California, Wyoming, Colorado, South Dakota, North Dakota, New Mexico, Arizona, and Alaska.

"These Food Service companies supply bread and buns to restaurants, ski resorts, ballparks, school systems, universities, and hospitals across the Western United States. We also sell our Flour, Cereal, Pancake Mixes, Seeds, and Grain across the entire U.S. We have many large distributors and bakeries that order truckloads of our mill products on a weekly basis. We have customers that call us from Georgia, Florida, and Pennsylvania that love being able to buy Wheat Montana Products," Danielsen said.

The business is also always looking for new customers.

"We would love for someone new to Wheat Montana to stop by our Deli for a 7-inch caramel roll for breakfast, get a sandwich lunch to go, and grab some pancake mix for the next day's breakfast," she said.

The Three Forks Deli is located at 10778 US-287. For more information, please visit http://www.wheatmontana.com