EVERY TIME I VISIT Montgomery, I discover something new in this town of some 3,400 only 22 miles northwest of Faribault and the self-proclaimed Kolacky Capital of the World.
But this community is about much more than the Czech pastry baked in many an area kitchen and at Franke’s Bakery and celebrated every July during Kolacky Days. Montgomery is also about historic architecture, locally-grown businesses, the arts, history, farming and a people proud of their Czech heritage.
My recent brief stop in Montgomery came near the end of a fall color drive through four area counties. That included hiking at Richter Woods County Park just west of town. Colors weren’t there. But still, walking through the woods in a park situated like an island among farm fields always proves peaceful, calming.
Then it was onward to Montgomery, where getting onto Minnesota State Highway 13 during school dismissal time meant waiting and more waiting as a steady stream of traffic flowed by. Eventually Randy was able to turn the van right, then turn left toward the downtown.
We passed Montgomery Brewing, where we’ve previously enjoyed excellent craft beer. And then we passed the new grocery store in town, Mike’s Discount Foods, next to the grain elevator. I was happy to see a grocery store reopened some two years after a long-time grocer shuttered in September 2023. A small town without a grocery store creates a local food desert and a challenge for residents, especially those who are aging.
I snapped a few photos of Mike’s and then of a farmer waiting with his John Deere tractor and grain wagon outside the elevator during the height of the busy harvest season.
Then it was on to the Arts & Heritage Center of Montgomery, one of my favorite places to pop into while in town. Volunteer run, this center in the historic Hilltop Hall always stages interesting exhibits in a narrow gallery decorated with formal portraits of Kolacky Days royalty lining the walls.
Volunteer Kathy welcomed us to the “Toys from the Past” exhibit which features homemade and manufactured toys dating back nearly 100 years. I saw toys I played with, toys my kids played with and then some from my parents’ era. It was just plain fun to reminisce as I viewed all those toys loaned by locals for the exhibit which ends October 31.
Kathy, upon my inquiry, directed me to the latest Wing Walk mural, part of the art center’s public art project collaboration with Tri-City United High School art students and the Montgomery Community Foundation. I found the newest mural—meat-themed wings—at Edel’s Meat Market, passing Czech Point along the way.
Now that’s a new place I need to Czech/check out. The inviting patio was enough to make me pause. The restaurant and bar serve up not only food and drink, but entertainment in a community gathering spot. The online description of food prepared from locally-sourced ingredients whenever possible appeals to me as do specials like a Hot Beef Commercial, $8 burgers and a Crispy Chicken Mashed Potato Bowl. It sounds like a whole lot of good rural comfort food to me.
In some ways, that’s how I feel about Montgomery. Comfortably at home every time I visit. I have no personal connections here. Yet I feel warmly welcomed in a place that celebrates its Czech heritage, values community and understands the importance of the arts and of bringing people into Montgomery to experience life in small town southern Minnesota.
FYI: The Arts & Heritage Center is open from 2-5 p.m. Thursday and Friday and from 9 a.m.-noon Saturdays. If you’re looking to visit a specific local business, check hours ahead of time. Montgomery is a small town and everything isn’t open every day.
© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling
Your documentation of Minnedota life makes me want to drive out and follow you around!
I would love to have you accompany me on my day trips and country drives.
Thanks so much for your strong support of our community!
You are welcome, Maureen. I’m happy to share my Montgomery discoveries. Thanks to everyone in your community who helps make Montgomery a great place to visit.
Montgomery is charming and laid back, and like you, i would probably go back for numerous visits. I love the ‘vintage’ toys, they bring such great memories and were much simpler. Can you fill me in on what a Hot Beef Commercial is?
A Beef Commercial is a slice of white bread topped with tender pot roast, a mound of mashed potatoes and then smothered in a whole lot of gravy. The word “commercial” references the traveling salesmen who ordered this meal on the road.
thanks for this, makes perfect sense – p.s. the woman who taught our cooking class that i posted today, is from minnesota and brought up ‘hot dish’ and i remembered talking about it
Hot dish is definitely a “thing” in Minnesota, not to be called “casserole.”
I think that was one of the attractions of remote work. You could keep your “big city” income and career while enjoying life in a smaller, more comforting place. And breathing some much needed economic life into that place.
I think you’re correct. More and more people seem to be moving out of the metro and surrounding burbs to places like Faribault and even smaller communities.
Those are some lush mums!
Yes, I thought the same.
Another wonderful small town to explore. I share your appreciation of all things small town.
Small towns have character. And having come from a remote rural area, I especially appreciate small towns.