<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2S7uc4_1DZc1wyG00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2S7uc4_1DZc1wyG00" width="375" height="500" ><figcaption>The Whistle Stop Cafe will open for business on July 28 under the new ownership of Kim Dennard. Linda Halstead-Acharya</figcaption></figure>The Whistle Stop Café was busting at the seams last week as Kim Dennard prepared to take ownership of the Columbus eatery. She hopes to see that loyal patronage continue — if not grow — when it opens under her management on July 28.“I like to think everybody will be supportive,” she said. “Everybody I’ve run into has been so excited.”Dennard will be the third owner of the café, which opened in May 2020. The Whistle Stop, which occupies the old Columbus Creamery building, might be described as a burger and shake “joint,” decorated in a 1950s theme with a railroad “whistle stop” twist. Known for its smash burgers, fresh-cut fries and ice cream — both hard and soft — customers might almost expect to see waitresses zip out on roller-skates.Dennard was happily working for Casey’s Dream (a disability services organization in Billings, started by Absarokee’s Brittany Curl), when she noticed the price drop on the Whistle Stop.“It was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing,” she said. She conferred with her husband Colby, who encouraged her to follow her gut. “When I thought about it, I decided ‘let’s do it. Let’s do it in two weeks’.”Dennard, who doubles as president of Kruizin’ 4 Seniors, values the community she calls home. And she sees her new venture as a way to support that community.“I know there’s an effort to beautify Columbus and bring people downtown,” she said. “Which I’m all for. We need that.”It’s been a while since Dennard worked in the restaurant business, but years ago she spent some time waiting tables and cooking at a small café in Washington state.“It was a little café almost like this,” she said. “And every time I’d go back to Washington, I’d go back there to eat.”Last year, as director of the Stillwater Golf Course, she picked up a few skills that will benefit her in her new role. But above all, the timing was right.“This is going to be my baby,” she said. “I wouldn’t mind being my own boss for the first time in my life. So, I bit the bullet.”Last Friday, as Dennard waited out front as the noon-day rush dissipated, Melissa Olsen slipped out of the Whistle Stop and paused to ask Dennard if she’d be keeping the ever-popular milkshakes — made with Wilcoxson’s ice cream. Dennard was quick to confirm, that, yes, customers could count on it. She’d only spent one day working in the cafe and there’d been so many orders for milkshakes “it’d be silly not to,” she said.Then Olsen offered one observation.“They are slammed in there,” she said. “If you keep it like it is, you’ll be busy.”In fact, Dennard plans to keep everything pretty much the same — except for a few additions.“People don’t like too much change,” she said. “I’ve learned that. I don’t want to get too much going at first.”The additions she is considering — adding a BLT and a fish option to the menu — seem to fit with the character of the place. She’s also hoping to extend evening hours from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. And she’s especially excited at the prospect of adding outdoor seating in the area between the Whistle Stop and Perceptions. She envisions pea gravel on the ground with picnic tables and string lights to make it festive in the evening.“That will double or even tripe my seating,” she said.As Dennard prepares to open next week, she will rely on support from Heather Mico, who has owned the Whistle Stop for the last few years. Dennard expects to be looking for day help and a fry cook, especially once the school year begins. She advises anyone interested to swing by and talk to her.She’s also counting on support from her family. Two of her daughters are eager to work, as are some of their friends. And there’s even a good chance Dennard’s father, step-mother and brother will move back to Columbus and get in on the action.“It’s all working out so far,” Dennard said. “We’ll see.”She smiles as she adds that Colby, who spends every other week working at a mine in Arizona, will help out.“He said he’d be my runner,” she said.As she faces her most pressing priorities — making sure she’s staffed, getting the outdoor seating up and running and extending her hours — Dennard is shadowing Mico, meeting distributors and getting the paperwork squared away. She’ll be closed July 26 and 27 and open for business at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, July 28.“I want people to come by and say ‘hi’ and introduce themselves,” she said. “Give me feedback and let me know what they want.”</div></body>

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The Whistle Stop Café was busting at the seams last week as Kim Dennard prepared to take ownership of the Columbus eatery. She hopes to see that loyal patronage continue — if not grow — when it opens under her management on July 28. “I like to...

The Whistle Stop comes under new ownership

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The Whistle Stop Café was busting at the seams last week as Kim Dennard prepared to take ownership of the Columbus eatery. She hopes to see that loyal patr

The Whistle Stop comes under new ownership

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