Wild Joe's Last Weeks on Main Street, and What the Job Postings Say Comes Next

At 7 a.m. on Oct. 1, a few days after the news broke, a handful of people sat at Wild Joe's Coffee Spot with mugs of coffee, most of them working quietly on laptops, according to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. It looked like any other weekday morning at 18 W. Main St. That's the detail that sticks. Two months before its scheduled Dec. 5 closing, the shop still had people at its tables when the doors opened.

That leaves a month. The way the closure was announced says a lot about what that month is for. Wild Joe's didn't run out of customers or decide to retire. Its lease ended, and its owner is now looking for somewhere to keep going.

The Lease Ended Before the Business Did

On Sept. 28, Wild Joe's posted on Instagram that its lease would be "involuntarily terminated" and that "a new business is already in line to rent the space." Erica Brubaker, the shop's co-owner and manager, told the Chronicle she was never offered the chance to renew. By Oct. 2 the post had more than 250 comments. The Chronicle reported that nearly all of them expressed sadness or frustration, and many shared personal stories about the shop.

Wild Joe's has held the ground floor of the Lovelace Building since 2001, and the building sold in 2020 after generations in one family's hands, according to the MSU Exponent. The Downtown Bozeman Partnership has two arms. The Downtown Bozeman Association works with businesses, and Wild Joe's is a member. The Business Improvement District works with landlords and building owners. Executive Director Ellie Staley told the Chronicle that the owner of 18 W. Main is an active BID member.

Staley put the shop's role plainly. Wild Joe's "is certainly a gathering place in downtown Bozeman," she told the Chronicle, adding that the business has a "really loyal following."

So the closing date was set by the lease, and the question of what happens next belongs to the people running the shop.

What 18 West Main Is Being Staffed For

Neither the building owner nor the incoming tenant has made a formal announcement or given a statement. The public record so far is a hiring push. On Oct. 16, the Chronicle's Dan Astin reported on general manager postings on Indeed and on Montana Knife Company's careers site. Both describe a storefront with a Black Rifle Coffee shop inside.

The Indeed listing puts the details in writing:

"We're opening our newest location on Main Street in Bozeman, Montana," the posting reads, adding that it will have a Black Rifle Coffee Company shop inside, "just like our flagship store in Missoula," as quoted by the Chronicle. Montana Knife Company's careers page lists one Bozeman opening with the same title and pay range.

You can see the Missoula model already. Montana Knife Company runs a Black Rifle Coffee shop inside its Missoula location at 8659 Robbins Road, with posted coffee hours. On its About page, the company says it moved production into its Missoula factory in January 2026. The Chronicle describes Black Rifle Coffee Company as veteran-founded, with part of its proceeds, product donations and profits going to veteran-focused organizations, active-duty military and first responders.

The postings tell you what's being planned and staffed. They don't give an opening date or store hours, and they don't confirm a signed lease. The Chronicle called it a developing story. For now, Main Street will have a coffee counter at 18 W. Main again, under a different business. When it opens hasn't been announced.

Dec. 5 Is the Christmas Stroll and Wild Joe's Last Day

Wild Joe's picked the busiest night on downtown's calendar to close. The Downtown Bozeman Association's 46th Annual Christmas Stroll runs Saturday, Dec. 5, 2026, from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. The program includes Santa photos, the downtown lighting ceremony, a gingerbread contest, horse-drawn wagon rides, carols, nonprofit activities and food vendors.

If you're planning around that day, here's the order of events:

1. Through December: Wild Joe's plans a memory window in its front window, where customers can share memories of the shop before it closes, the Chronicle reported.
2. Dec. 5, 3 p.m.: Main Street closes to traffic for Stroll setup, according to the association's vendor notice.
3. Dec. 5, 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.: The Stroll. Wild Joe's final day falls on this date.
4. Dec. 5, 8:30 p.m.: Main Street reopens to traffic.

The shop hasn't said what its hours will be that Saturday. Once Main Street closes at 3 p.m., you'll be walking in from a side street or a downtown lot, so plan for a short walk if you want a last mug. The Christmas Stroll draws the biggest crowd of the year, which means the last day will probably be the busiest one too.

The Ask Is a New Address

Brubaker's announcement wasn't written as a goodbye. In the Instagram post she invited people to reach out about possible new locations, and she told the Chronicle:

"I'm hopeful someone interested in continuing the legacy in a new location will present themselves."

MontanaRightNow ran the same invitation alongside the Dec. 5 farewell plan, and the Exponent reported that staff hope the shop lands somewhere new. As of this week, no new location has been announced.

Brubaker told the Chronicle that her favorite memories of Wild Joe's are "watching the staff grow into professionals" and "sharing space with diverse individuals who always teach me something." The Chronicle's follow-up noted the shop's compostable rainbow cups and called it a place known for a welcoming atmosphere and environmental sensibilities. None of that is tied to the Lovelace Building. A crew, a following and a way of running a café can all move.

Downtown has been here before. A patron who has lived in Bozeman for decades told the Chronicle the news reminded him of Leaf & Bean, another Main Street coffeehouse that left in 2015.

A Bozeman storefront from this year shows the other way a vacancy can go. Farro, a bakery-café at 1011 W. College St., opened this October in the space that used to be the Break Room and then the College Street Taproom. According to Explore Big Sky, a barbecue restaurant was rumored for the space after the taproom closed in the spring, and it never materialized. Two local food-industry veterans, Collin O'Keefe and Jacob Turtletaub, moved in instead, with Shan co-owner Jarret Wrisley as a partner. In its third week, after selling out before closing time every day, Farro brought in more bakers. The coffee on its counter comes from Studio Coffee Roasters nearby, and the bar still pours beer, including the Round About Rye, a collaboration with Bridger Brewing. "We're here and we're building," O'Keefe told the columnist.

Farro shows something concrete about Bozeman right now: independent operators who've worked in local kitchens are still finding rooms and filling them. If Wild Joe's finds a new space, it will be the same kind of move, a known team taking over a room someone else left. Brubaker has asked publicly for leads, and her shop's Instagram is where the closure was first announced.

If you own or know of a storefront that could host a café, Brubaker has asked to hear from you. If you're picturing your own week around downtown Bozeman, Main Street coffee runs included, Everdawn Charles knows these blocks and can tell you how each one feels to live near. Discover Montana Living: Contact Everdawn.