Mike Carlstrom has been “the tire guy” for 10 plus years. He wanted his own business, so when he and his wife Susan, were traveling back and forth to their family cabin at Double Falls and found the Augusta Service Station for sale, they knew what they wanted to do. “I wanted him to have that, and if we were going to do this, it needed to be a team effort, from both of us” explained Susan.
When Mike & Susan took over, they worked on opening a coffee shop, and Crown Mountain Coffee was born. The COVID years had a huge impact on not only staffing, but customers, and in August of 2021 after sending their remaining two baristas off to college, Crown Mountain Coffee closed. “ We are grateful for our new, cute Lightning Bug Boutique and Coffee Shop which we frequent. We were missing “good coffee.”
Way back in the day, Augusta Service Station was also a car dealership. The main reception area used to be the showroom. Above the Parts room, the upstairs area was used for offices, and the back shop area where the feed and tires are stored, used to be the shop where they employed 5 mechanics…In Augusta!
Mike and Susan replaced the large showroom door at the front of the building with a smaller, more energy efficient door, and often use the backroom area for small events. Some of the events they have had are, Pictures with Santa, the 4H bake sale, and prior to finishing the current Golf Simulator Location, the backroom housed their indoor golf simulator.
The shop out back stores tires, all the feed supplies that they sell, including dog food, cat food, horse feed, bird seed, sunflower seeds, mineral blocks, and salt blocks. They also sell t-shirts and hats with their logo, and we can’t forget, Clint Wearley’s famous dog treats that are sold year-round, which he monitors religiously, so they’re always fresh.
“We feel like we’ve just kind of gotten into a comfortable groove here. We have our new pumps, the building is painted and we’re just slowly cleaning stuff up and figuring out how we’re going to use certain areas.”
Augusta Service offers light mechanics, vehicle service, and all things tires, including flat repairs. If you need propane, feed for your animals, vehicle fluids, or even that one weird thing that you can’t find anywhere else, Augusta Service Station is the place for you. And…they are hiring right now, so stop in at 130 Main Street, Augusta, MT, or call (406) 562-3377 if you have any questions.