The owners of Farm to Table Ice Cream are focusing on bringing small-batch, handcrafted ice cream to the Flathead Valley.  

Five years since Jessie Staggs and Daryl Smith took over the business, they have continued to build a connection with the community through the sweet treats they serve. Beginning in Columbia Falls and then adding a seasonal location in Bigfork, this spring they expanded into a new Kalispell location.  

"I always wanted to make a difference and help people, and this is doing that in a different arena,” Staggs said, sitting in the back of the new storefront, which doubles as the production facility for the locally made ice cream.  

Farm to Table features nine ice cream flavors, each made by Smith and Staggs in-house using locally sourced ingredients. The most important component, milk, comes from Great Falls at 75 gallons three times per week.  

The other various add-ins are locally sourced when possible. Take the espresso mocha flake ice cream, one of Staggs' current favorites. Combining local espresso beans and Staggs’ homemade chocolate sauce, the ice cream is perfectly creamy with equal hints of coffee and chocolate.  

Farm to Table Ice Cream was born out of a food truck before the business opened with a storefront in Columbia Falls. The business now employs over 20 people. 

Two years later, a storefront in Columbia Falls opened, which became Farm to Table’s first brick and mortar. They were able to stop using a commissary kitchen and transitioned to making the ice cream at the location.  

Staggs and Smith opened a second storefront last year in Bigfork after fielding requests to bring their ice cream to the town set on Flathead Lake.  

Originally looking for a space to use as a production facility, they stumbled upon the Kalispell location on West Idaho that formerly housed the chain ice cream shop Baskin-Robbins. The shop opened in March.  

To keep up with demand, Smith churns ice cream throughout the day. The machine itself is loud, making it difficult to work in a space as small as the Columbia Falls shop, he said.  

“We went looking for a sort of manufacturing facility and we walked away with a new storefront,” Smith laughed.   

Catering to the Kalispell community has been great so far, Staggs said. Repeat families come in, it's a place for people to meet and socialize, and there is always a special sweet treat for someone to try.  

“We’re pleasantly surprised,” Staggs said. “The whole business has been led by God, we’re just listening.” 

Moving forward, Staggs and Smith feel content with their presence with three storefronts and a food truck. However, they did mention that making a drive-thru one day could be a potential project.  

The simple menu with standby flavors like chocolate and vanilla, punctuated with unique Montana creations like Flathead cherry and wild huckleberry. In addition to the chocolate sauce, Stagg makes caramel sauce, baked goods and waffle cones from scratch.  

“You can taste the difference,” Smith said. “Definitely.” 

The new location is at 649 West Idaho in Kalispell. To learn more, visit farmtotableicecream.com.  

Reporter Kate Heston may be reached at 758-4459 or [email protected].