Polebridge Mercantile gets TLC most will never see

The iconic Polebridge Mercantile has undergone some major renovations over the past few years, though the average visitors would be hard pressed to notice the changes.

The 106-year-old building was leaning several inches to the north, explained owner Will Hammerquist. In addition, the second floor was sagging about three inches.

Hammerquist, along with help from his father, Kirk, laid a new foundation under the building and shifted it back to plumb. The main beam that supported with the second floor was replaced with beam from RBM Lumber in Columbia Falls. New hardwood floors were also put down, and a couple of weeks ago, CM Jones Construction put a new steel roof on the structure.

Some of the metal siding has been replaced as well. Hammerquist notes that the same company that offered the unique siding when Bill Adair built the place is still in business today.

Famous for its bakery, the Merc was once a sleepy stop en route to the North Fork of the Flathead. Adair built the Merc in 1914.

But it wasn’t called the Polebridge Mercantile initially. It was Adair’s. His original store was built in Sullivan Meadow in what is now Glacier National Park, Hammerquist noted.

Today, Sullivan is largely closed to the public in a summer months, to allow wolves to raise their families in peace.

The Merc’s baked goods grew in popularity under previous owners Deb and Dan Kaufman.

The current bakery, and most of its recipes are the legacy of Kaufman, a third-generation baker from Idaho who owned the Merc for 15 years. Kaufman’s baking wisdom still live on in every bear claw the Merc produces, the Merc’s website notes.

The building improvements started when previous owners, Stuart Reiswig and Flannery Coats took ownership from Kaufman in 2009.

Hammerquist, in turn, purchased it from them in 2014.

Today, the Merc has gone from a relatively unknown stop for most Glacier Park visitors, to extremely busy in the summer months, seeing tens of thousands of visitors a year, despite the sometimes rough and bumpy drive up the dirt road from Columbia Falls.

It now has a flush toilet and an array of solar panels that help reduce its carbon footprint.