Belle Fourche's Storefront Shuffle Gave Downtown a New Morning, From 5 a.m. Pancakes to a Real-Cup Bistro

At 9 a.m. on a weekday, Anke's Bakery Market and Bistro opens on Grant Street. Inside, a room that used to hold the Chamber of Commerce's brochure racks now has tables and chairs. Coffee comes in ceramic cups. Pastries come on real plates. Four hours before that, the Breakfast Club on 5th Avenue has already been serving eggs and hash browns since 5 a.m.

Nobody built a new building to make this happen. Over 2026, a handful of Belle Fourche businesses traded spaces. Each one that landed in a newly empty storefront took a different hour and a different pace of the morning.

One Move Opened the Door for the Next

These moves link together, and the order explains where downtown's new morning stops ended up.

1. The Chamber moved first. The Belle Fourche Chamber of Commerce went a few blocks south to 713 6th Ave, the former Black Hills Title building. The Belle Fourche Beacon reported in March that the new office has nearly twice the room of the old one, plus a conference room and podcasting equipment members can reserve.
2. Anke's Bakery took the Chamber's old office. The bakery grew into the space next door and turned it into a sit-down bistro. The ribbon was cut on the morning of Sept. 25.
3. The Homestead Store took over the old Hot Shots Ice Cream storefront. It went from roughly 750 to 800 square feet to 1,200 square feet, and the new space came with a drive-through window.

Each of these spaces already had a history in town. And each new tenant looked at the room it inherited and changed what it sold to fit.

The Drive-Through Window Nobody Planned For

The Homestead Store has a short story. Sisters Bridget and Brook, now co-owners, needed more room for a new olive oil and vinegar line. The Hot Shots Ice Cream storefront came open just as the lease on their old shop ran out.

The window came with the building. Brook told the Belle Fourche Beacon that when Tristan Bridges of Spearfish Coffee Roasters called about setting up a coffee cart in their store, she told him, "there's a drive-through window—we have no idea what we're going to do with it." She said Bridges then trained her as a barista and helped them get started.

What came out of that is The Homestead Grind. It pours Spearfish Coffee Roasters coffee, Sage & Cedar herbal teas and matcha. You can add organic syrups, fresh local milk, milk alternatives or local honey. The menu also covers smoothies, Italian cream soda, chai, cold brew, frappes and breakfast foods.

The move happened fast. The old store closed at noon on Saturday, April 11. Brook said about 95% of the stock was carried over that same day, and the new location opened Thursday, April 16. The Homestead Store's homepage gives the address as 603 5th Ave. It lists hours of 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, the same hours the Beacon printed in April. The store's contact page still shows a different address and Wednesday-through-Saturday hours, so check the homepage before your first visit.

So the drive-through is the town's quick stop. You can get a latte and a breakfast item without getting out of the truck, and it's open from 7 a.m. on weekdays.

A Bistro That Refuses to Be a Restaurant

Anke's went the opposite way with its new space, and owner Anke Townsdin chose that on purpose. Chamber Executive Director Michaela Horn said at the ribbon cutting that Townsdin had been "thinking about it, dreaming about it for about five years."

Here is how Townsdin described the pace she wants, as quoted in the Belle Fourche Beacon's October story:

"Since everybody is going fast, fast, fast… I said, no, we're going the other way, we're going to be the slow one where you have a real cup, not the paper cups, where you sit down, mingle, and meet friends."

She was also clear about what the place is not. She told the Beacon she doesn't "want to be a restaurant." She described it as a European-style bistro, where you have coffee and a pastry, slow down, and then go about your day. It is not full service.

The food matches that. Organic artisan German breads and pastries are still the center of the business. The bistro added breakfast sandwiches and paninis, and the market side carries teas, crackers, pasta, sauces and fresh produce. Little goes to waste. Townsdin told the Beacon that beets that don't sell get pickled and tomatoes that sit too long become tomato sauce.

The Chamber's member listing gives 503 Grant St for the bakery and its pick-up window. As of the Beacon's Oct. 8 story, the bistro is open 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Those are short hours, so this is a late-morning stop. It's closed Sunday and Monday, and it won't be open in time for a 7 a.m. commute.

The Early Shift Was Already Covered

The newer spots start later partly because the early hours already belonged to someone else. The Breakfast Club sits at 1405 5th Ave. Rhonda and Marty Schild opened it on Feb. 1, 2025. It serves only breakfast and is open only during breakfast hours. Rhonda has owned the Outlaw for more than 12 years, so a breakfast-only café was a new kind of business for the couple.

At the first-anniversary celebration, the Beacon reported that the daily special sold out within a few hours of opening. It was a 6 oz sirloin with eggs and hash browns or home fries for $17.50. The café seats about 55. It buys much of its steak from Lueders and much of its produce and dairy from Lynn's. As of February, it was open 5 a.m. to noon, seven days a week, with longer hours planned for summer. The Schilds were also starting to book private events and catering for the hours they're closed.

Farther up 5th Avenue, Pony Express-O at 1833 5th Ave fills another gap. Its website lists 6:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday and 7 a.m. to noon Sunday. Of the four stops here, it's the only coffee option that lists Sunday hours. The Breakfast Club also served on Sundays as of February.

How the Morning Lines Up Now

With all four in place, each part of a Belle Fourche morning now has a stop. Hours below are as each business or the Beacon last listed them, so check before a holiday week.

The Breakfast Club was already serving early when the others moved. The Homestead Grind showed up because the window came with the Hot Shots building. Anke's waited about five years for a room big enough for tables. When the Chamber left for a bigger space, that room opened up.

The Next Few Weeks on This Clock

The schedule fits the coming weeks well. Belle Fourche High School's Veterans Day Program is Wednesday, Nov. 11, at 9 a.m. in the Rec Center Theater. The middle school's program follows at 2 p.m. in its gym, according to the Beacon's Oct. 14 issue. You can grab coffee from one of the earlier windows on the way in. Anke's opens at 9 that Wednesday, and it's open until 1 p.m. if you want to sit down afterward.

Then the bakery season starts. Townsdin told the Beacon she's looking forward to Christmas baking, including gingerbread. That is the first holiday season the bakery has had sit-down tables in the old Chamber office on Grant Street.

Downtown storefronts in Belle Fourche keep changing hands, and Falina Selchert follows which spaces open up and what moves in. If you own a building in town, or you'd like to know what a storefront or the home near it might be worth right now, Black Hills Real Estate Pros can set up a free market valuation over coffee at any of the four stops above.