Serving Up Kindness & Compassion
Passionate about feeding their community
Every Wednesday a petite, well-dressed, elderly woman visits the Red Rooster Kitchen in Laurel, where she is warmly welcomed by Teri Legg, the bakery’s owner. She’s a regular, and at every visit the lady orders eight caramel rolls. She tells Teri that she puts them in the freezer and has one a day, though every once in a while she eats two.
During the past two years, Teri and her husband, Nathan, who is the chief baker at Red Rooster, have been supplying their community with bread, pastries, cookies, doughnuts and more. It’s a wholesale bakery and commercial kitchen, and it has become a popular grab-and-go breakfast stop in Laurel.
Recently the elderly woman stopped coming in, and Teri worried about what had happened to her. But then, one Wednesday in early October, she walked through the door with the same order, eight caramel rolls.
“You know, if you can’t make it in, you can always call and we will deliver,” Teri said to her loyal customer.
The woman politely declined, saying, “No thank you, I like to have a reason to get out of the house.”
Teri’s gesture is the sort of customer service that’s making a difference in Laurel. She’s one of five female restaurant owners who are feeding their community with kindness and compassion.
“When you bring people happiness, it brings you happiness,” Teri says.
Around the corner, Janel Allison is also serving breakfast from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. at her sit-down restaurant, the Cracked Egg. Her loyal customers love her biscuits and gravy, breakfast burritos and southern-style chicken and waffles, as well as her famous Yum Yums, a cinnamon sugar-crusted ball of baked sweet dough.
“We have regulars who come in and some of them we know so well that the minute they come in we know what they are going to have,” Janel says.
Further down Main Street is the Yogurt Shop, where Jackie Johnson serves up swirly helpings of frozen yogurt with a variety of tasty toppings. The inside of the Yogurt Shop is just as colorful and cheery as the sprinkles customers use to top their yogurt. The walls are covered with colorful circles, and everything from the lime green sofa to the dinette sets is colorful.
“Can you tell that I ran a daycare and was a teacher before I opened the Yogurt Shop?” she says.
On her first visit to the Yogurt Shop, one little girl said, “It’s like being inside a birthday present!”
Jackie owns the shop with her mother, Lynnette Blumhagen, and friend Darby Gerondale. Her mother makes all the soup from scratch, and they all pitch in during the lunch hour to make wraps, keep the popular salad bar stocked and cover the register. It’s a hang-out spot for kids and families, and lunchtime regulars rave about the homemade cheeseburger soup.
“We have a lot of customers who have become like family” Jackie says.
On Fifth Avenue, Red Neck Pizza is open for lunch and dinner and, according to owner Ann Marie Barton’s customers, it’s the best pizza in town. She also sells broasted chicken, mashed potatoes and other classic comfort foods. The restaurant is decorated with patriotic and inspirational sayings that capture Ann Marie’s down-to-earth personality.
“It’s not easy, but I love it,” Ann Marie says. “I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
Across the tracks, the Carlton Depot Eatery and Alehouse also serves up lunch and dinner. Owner Shawna Hopper spent most of her life working in the food and beverage industry, starting as a teenager at the Fifth Avenue Deli. It’s no longer in operation but it made a lifelong impact on Shawna.
When it came time for her to open her own restaurant, she knew Laurel had to be the location. She’s proud of her hometown, and she named the Carlton Depot after the city’s early beginnings. Before the town was incorporated, it was known as Carlton Station.
“I wanted to pay tribute to the history of Laurel,” Shawna says.
The Carlton has an eclectic menu that checks all the boxes for Montana fare with outstanding steaks and burgers, but it also includes several dishes with an Asian twist. Among the best sellers are the Korean steak and noodles, and the cheese chunks with apple butter.
“There’s a lot you can get in Laurel. I don’t think people realize we have such a big variety of restaurants,” Ann Marie says.
Shawna, Ann Marie, Jackie, Teri and Janel agree.
While it may seem like they should be in competition, the women don’t see it that way. Instead, they enthusiastically support each other and their businesses. They’re a sounding board and cheer squad, and when one is struggling with a bad review or grouchy customer, they get a group text going to lift each other’s spirits. Everyone’s advice is welcome, and on social media they are often the first to like and share one another’s posts.
“We just want all of us to succeed and be successful. In every way we’re looking to support one another,” Shawna says.
Staffing is one of those challenges.
The Red Rooster relies on part-time staff, and they need to be flexible. Around the holidays, Teri has to recruit additional seasonal employees.
“Going into it, we didn’t think staffing would be our biggest challenge, but it has been,” Teri says.
Ann Marie and Jackie rely on a mostly teenage workforce. It’s not easy, but they work around kids’ sports and activity schedules. They know that those students are often the most motivated and committed.
“It’s fun to start them on their path into the workforce,” Jackie says. “At some point in their life, everyone needs to explore working in food service.”
Ann Marie’s employees call her their “work mom” and at the end of the summer, before they all go back to school, she and her husband take them all camping.
“Whether it’s work or personal I’m there for them,” Ann Marie says.
When someone starts at Redneck Pizza, Ann Marie says, “I’ll never ask you to do something I won’t do, and I’ll be there working just as hard as you.”
Janel can attest to the importance of teamwork, and in her restaurant, she has learned that when even one member of her team isn’t committed to the job, it can have a negative domino effect. Janel keeps the atmosphere positive and looks to build on the strengths of her employees.
“I don’t want to be a typical boss that knows everything because I don’t know everything,” Janel said.
For many of the women, staffing is a family affair. Shawna’s two older boys work for her at the Carlton Depot and Jackie’s son, 16, works for her at the Yogurt Shop as well. Ann Marie’s daughters worked for their parents at Redneck Pizza until they started their careers, and now they have families of their own.
When it comes to customers, all five women rely primarily on word of mouth to bring fresh faces through their doors. Still, when people think of grabbing a quick lunch, they often turn to the fast-food chains that line Fourth Street. They don’t often think of driving through the underpass and checking out what’s on Main Street.
“We’ve been here eight years, and we still have people come in and say, ‘We had no idea you were here,’” Jackie says.
Jackie proudly wears a T-shirt that says, “Support Small Business,” and it’s the sermon she preaches everywhere she goes. Ann Marie, Shawna, Teri and Janel all agree that everyone should be supporting small businesses like theirs.
“The more you support small businesses the more small businesses can support your community,” Shawna says.
Two years ago, there was a fire at the Yogurt Shop and the restaurant was closed for five months. Through it all, the community was encouraging, and when they re-opened customers were quick to return.
“It isn’t always easy in a small town, but in the end your community, they’re there for you,” Jackie says.
All the women have their stories to share of kitchen disasters, staff wins, happy customers, grumpy customers and hundreds of surprises along the way. Collectively, they’ve seen it all and have plenty of advice for those wishing to open their own restaurant.
“You have to be realistic. Everything is going to cost more than you think,” Janel says. “You have to be prepared to fly by the seat of your pants, and you have to surround yourself with good people.”
