Brewing Community
Carla Brownson Is Pouring Love, Purpose, and Belonging Into Billings’ Coffee Culture
From small town cafes to big city centers, for decades people have gathered together and around cups of coffee to talk a little business or share some hot “tea” between friends.
Maybe you need the jolt of caffeine, or you just crave the camaraderie that comes with it. For Carla Brownson, the owner of Maple Moose Coffee and Pop Shop in Annafeld, a southwest Billings subdivision, there’s something much more meaningful brewing in that seemingly simple cup of Joe. Coffee is a conduit to connect people, ideas, even communities. It turns out, Carla is too.
To understand how Carla and coffee became a thing is to believe that everything happens for a reason. Growing up in Lewistown, she thrived in the friendly, small-town atmosphere where neighbors helped neighbors and there were no strangers.
“I’m a small-town kid. I think that has something to do with why I have things the way they are today,” Carla says.
She set her sights on becoming a teacher, so a degree in elementary education and a job teaching pre-K at Shiloh Christian Academy in Billings, were steps toward that goal. “I love working with kids,” she says.
Between Carla’s teaching and her husband’s various roles in youth ministry over the years, it seemed she was doing exactly what she was called to do.
“We always had these avenues to work with young people. It’s just so fun,” she adds.
Then, she unknowingly stumbled onto a new path. “My parents and uncle purchased a coffee kiosk back in 1999 in Lewistown,” remembers Carla. “I was living in Billings, newly married and my mom asked if I wanted to come to barista training and just learn. I was like, ‘sure.’”
What seemed like an afterthought at the time laid the groundwork for her future. “I went to all that training way back then and, my, how things have changed.”
She didn’t quit her day job but she did put her barista training to good use over the years. “I always worked at coffee shops, kind of as a therapeutic side-gig,” she says. “I am definitely a people person. People give me energy.”
From Montana to Tennessee and back to Montana, Carla has worked at a variety of coffee shops, even managing the one at Clydehurst Christian Ranch in McLeod, Montana, where husband Scott is now a director. With fulfilling careers and three children of their own, Carla and Scott were content. While building their house in Josephine Crossing eight years ago, the opportunity presented itself for Carla to combine her passion for people and her joy of java.
“Greg McCall (the developer of Josephine Crossing) said they were starting a new location in Annafeld, and they wanted to have a marketplace-type area” Carla recalls. “We were pumped that Elysian School is right there and kids could walk down after school. We told Greg, ‘We have an idea.’”
The idea was not to build a sterile, cookie-cutter coffee shop. Instead, she wanted to create a cozy spot filled with friendship and conversation. A hangout for kids after school. A haven of hospitality where generations could meet, mingle and make memories. In Carla’s words, “We wanted to create a community.”
After years of planning and patience, Maple Moose Coffee and Pop Shop officially opened in January 2023. The friendship flowed, goodwill was poured into every patron and that community Carla prayed for was born.
Maria Knight, a regular at Maple Moose, can attest to the successful execution of Carla’s philosophy and vision for her comfy, caffeinated corner of the world. “It has a warm, cozy vibe, like going into your family’s house,” says Maria. “It’s really nice to have this communal space to get to know people within my community. We can bring the kids or have a game night or host a baby shower. It’s the perfect spot.”
Carla points to a place on the wall that says, “Welcome to Maple Moose Country. Today is better with you here.”
“When I hire new people,” she adds, “I tell them sometimes you might mess up drinks and you might get things wrong, but what matters most to me is how you treat our customers. It’s important that you learn their names and learn their drinks. It makes people feel good.”
Carla’s customer-centric approach and reputation soon garnered attention from other entities in the community, like Rock 31 in downtown Billings, which invited her to open a satellite Maple Moose in their building last July.
Opportunity knocked again when Community Leadership and Development Inc., or CLDI, reached out to Carla about taking over operations at Rail Line Coffee on the South Side of Billings.
CLDI is a faith-based organization whose original vision for Rail Line was to provide jobs through an apprenticeship program for those who lacked job experience. It would give employees training, job skills and an income, while also reinvesting in the community.
Carey Darlington, CLDI’s Operation and Development Director, says Carla was an obvious choice for Rail Line.
“Carla and her husband just missionally aligned very closely with CLDI, the values we wish to represent and put forth,” she says. “Our intention was never to be in the coffee business. it was to get it going and get it running. Our goal is to always move quality, good people to the South Side so we’re just so excited to move in a partner that really embodies the flavor of what we do at CLDI.”
Carla felt honored when CLDI approached her. “They said we would really love for you to come in and take over this space,” she recalls. “They asked how I would feel about their apprenticeship program and I said, ‘Great, let’s do it now.’”
A lease was signed and on Oct. 11, 2025, and Maple Moose at Rail Line opened. “The thing that really excites me about the South Side is I would love to see Rail Line eventually feel like the Annafeld location,” she says. “We brought our ice cream and our soda down there; we’ve repositioned things and have a couch seating area. We want the South Side families to know ‘this is a place for you.’”
It’s a personal calling for Carla, who got to know some of the families on the South Side while working for the after-school program at Friendship House last spring. Her heart and compassion for kids and community grew even more through the experience. Now, she can bring her brand of community-building where it’s needed most.
“We have a plaque in our house that says ‘Love God and Love Others’ and that’s been kind of my mantra,” Carla says. “I love Jesus, I love people. That’s the whole point.”
If you believe everything happens for a reason, then you can clearly see how Carla and coffee became a thing. What was once her fun side-gig has all along been the perfect metaphor for a ministry of her own — pouring the very best parts of herself into every person she meets, filling their cups with not only coffee, but kindness, compassion and love.
“I’ve cried tears of joy. I’ve cried tears of frustration,” she says. “There are days I can’t believe I was brave enough to do this, and I have to thank my husband. I couldn’t have done it without him. I do feel like this is what God has called me to do, to be a light in my community and to love people well.”
