BELGRADE — For those who live in Belgrade, you’ve likely passed by these two coffee shops along Broadway...
Revamped Coffee Co. and Center Ice Cafe are two local staples owned by a mother-daughter duo.
Now, the owners of those businesses are raising concerns about how a proposed roundabout could impact their future.
WATCH: Will a new Belgrade roundabout hurt local shops?
"It hurts to know that if this roundabout goes in and I can't keep it up over the next two years," said the owner of Revamped, Katie Timmer. "This could go away."
Timmer and her wife, Taysha, opened their Revamped location on Jackrabbit in 2022. This location on Broadway has been open for just nine months.
Timmer said the city's plans to build a roundabout at the intersection of Broadway and Main could affect parking and pedestrian traffic.
"A huge portion of the people that patron our businesses are elderly or handicapped," she explained. "There are very few opportunities for them to be able to come here."
Timmer's mother, Rhonda Gilbert, the owner of Center Ice Cafe, agreed.
"Fifty percent of my customers are senior citizens or handicapped," said Gilbert. "They have said there is no way they'll be able to return without parking."
Center Ice, a hockey-themed coffee shop and restaurant on Broadway, has been open in Belgrade for nearly a decade.
"I love making people happy," expressed Gilbert.
She added that if the roundabout is built, it could take away over 40 downtown parking spots.
Wednesday evening, the city of Belgrade, the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT), and DOWL — a construction engineering company — hosted an open house.
According to MDT, the event was to inform the public about this roundabout project and two additional upcoming infrastructure projects on Jackrabbit and Amsterdam Road.
Project manager with DOWL, Lisa Olmsted, showcased renderings of the roundabout project.
"This is the proposed mini roundabout," she explained. "It is at the corner of South Broadway and Main."
According to Olmsted, the roundabout would help improve traffic flow and congestion in downtown Belgrade.
"Belgrade is growing significantly, and we're trying to make sure the infrastructure meets the needs of the community."
As for parking spaces, Olmsted said they're putting in a "mini roundabout" to minimize the amount of on-street parking that is lost.
Several community members, including Timmer and Gilbert, attended the open house.
"I'm here because not just my business but a multitude of businesses on Broadway are going to be struggling to get costumers into their base," said Timmer.
Construction on the roundabout is currently scheduled to begin in 2028.
You can find more information on the three major infrastructure projects coming to Belgrade in the next few years on the MDT website.
