Stillwater Brew Keeps Lake Traffic Caffeinated

Few things bring up the standard of living more effectively than a really good coffee shop. For residents of Nashua, Park Grove and Fort Peck--as well as a steady stream of Corps workers, tourists, and sportsmen--the living is very good indeed around Stillwater Brew.

After securing their location at 9 Stillwater Road near the dam on the way to the Downstream Campground and the Fort Peck Interpretive Center and Museum in 2008, business owners Marlyce and Kiley Braaten opened their smartly appointed cafe in May, 2014. The result has been a bright spot in the local landscape, providing quality refreshments, baked goods, sandwiches and snacks to the grateful residents of an area typically overlooked by ambitious entrepreneurs.

Regulars include actors from the Fort Peck Theatre, construction workers, law enforcement personnel, and WAPA employees, among others, all of whom would be faced with a drive of 20 miles or more for a sip of well-poured espresso.

Stillwater offers an array of specialty espresso drinks with beans from Caffé Vita, as well as Italian sodas, smoothies, pastries, breakfast/lunch sandwiches (the breakfast sandwiches are particularly popular), bagels, croissants, cinnamon rolls (homemade), souvenir mugs and straight forward drip coffee with any additions or variations you can think up.

Coffee snobs will keep their noses turned decidedly down when they sample the Braaten's drinks, wherever they happen to hail from. The rest of us are just glad the place is there to keep our mugs and stomachs full in what would otherwise be a coffee-free wasteland.