A New Leap For the Toad

Glasgow natives Alicia (Doke) Frueh and Jim Frueh have had an established presence at the Loaded Toad in downtown Glasgow over the years. J. Frueh helped build the establishment and has been in charge of the financial aspects of the business since the beginning while A. Frueh used to live across the street, became a frequent customer and then decided to work there at the front counter in addition to her full time job as the city utility clerk. As a result of their commitment and loyalty to the business as well as their love of coffee, the Fruehs became the new owners of the local coffee shop on Aug. 25.

The Fruehs took over ownership from J. Frueh's sister, Ann Kulczyk, who opened the coffee shop on July 14, 2014. Her inspiration for opening a coffee shop in Glasgow first took hold after coming home after her first duty of serving in Iraq in the early 2000s. "While serving overseas, once a week my husband [John Kulczyk] and I were able to have a date and we always went to this coffee shop that the Italian military had brought with them. In the shop there was a sense of camaraderie. You could see normal life. Pictures of life came out, soldiers were talking about their family back home. Even though there was war going on, normal life was happening inside of that shop," explained Kulczyk. After coming home and then serving another tour, the coffee shop was still there and she was able to relive those same experiences. "When coming back and adjusting back to life, I wanted that sense of community. I wanted a place that felt like home, that served homemade pastries. A place where you could grab your best girlfriend and catch up," stated Kulczyk.

After coming home from serving overseas, Kulczyk and her husband stopped at a restaurant supply store where they found an old expresso machine. Kulczyk's husband purchased it and said "Now you have to open." With the assistance of Sean Heavey and Toni LaGree, she was able to make her dream a reality and the coffee shop was born.

The unique name, The Loaded Toad, also has origins from Kulczyk's military days. After graduating from Glasgow High School, she joined the Air Force and from 1989 to 1993 her job was to load bombs into the Warthog war plane as part of the flight line called Load Toads. Since she worked the night shifts, she and many others on the shift utilized coffee as their source of energy and consequently were called the Loaded Toads.

Kulczyk decided to step away as owner as a result of a busier life with her two kids, Abbey and Nikolas, and getting more involved in extra-curricular activities which brings her out of town more often. Even though she has stepped away as owner, she isn't completely hands-off. She still helps out as needed and still very much has a presence in the shop. She is happy the business has stayed in the family and is excited for the new opportunity for the Fruehs. "They are a great team and it's fun to watch them with this new venture," said Kulczyk.

The Fruehs are certainly excited for their new venture in the business and with the assistance of barista Cindy Storkson and baker Doris LaGree, their goal is simple: make good coffee and have amazing customer service. "It has been a very smooth transition. We haven't changed anything in terms of employees and how things are ran," explained A. Frueh. "If you get a bad coffee, tell us immediately and we will do whatever we can to rectify it." Their coffee beans, which are free trade and single origin, continue to come from Kara Stewart at Kafe Utza out of Miles City, which has been their supplier from the beginning. They also continue to utilize biogradable cups, which was something Kulczyk felt strongly about when opening up the shop. You mostly see J. Frueh or Storkson make your coffee while A. Frueh takes your order.

In an ideal perfect world, a future goal for the Fruehs is to have a mobile coffee shop that will be set up for special events. But in the meantime they are happy to continue to build upon the already established relationship the coffee shop has built with the community.

The Loaded Toad is located at 527 2nd Ave S, Glasgow. They are open Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.