In Red Lodge, under the Beartooth Mountains there is a mecca of food and drink from around the world. Bounty abounds in a yellow house, and now, in a Montana mountain modern themed building. At the Babcock and Miles Market, and right next door, at the new Babcock and Miles Wine Bar and Café Steve and Kim Haman, who proclaim to be the merchants of the delectable, are bringing deliciousness to under the Big Sky.
In 2008, Andrew and Karen Porth birthed the market with the logo of a flying pig. They brought to reality the offerings of flavors from beyond to under the Big Sky. The community embraced having the option of being able to access food and drink from around the globe. Then in 2016, the Hamans bought the business from the Porths to opening the wine bar and café early this summer.
“Steve has always had a passion for food and wine,” Kim said.
He shared his love of food with her. Steve broadened Kim’s appreciation of food from her childhood growing up in the Midwest. “I grew up in the heartland in Oklahoma and most things that I was exposed to were from my grandparents’ farm,” she shared.
Steve and Kim fell in love in college, marrying young, to live in Phoenix where Kim said they discovered “great places to eat. It was a really a burgeoning, fun community in the early 80s, and we went to California quite a bit.”
“Our big date night out was to go to Streets of New York, this little deli, and we would get Italian, the number 7 sandwich, and we would share it and a little salad. In that same parking lot was this Liquor Barn, which was an old Safeway that had been converted to this wine store,” Steve said. “Kim and I would wander the aisles after dinner at Streets of New York pretending we were traveling to some far away destination.”
Then Kim’s boss, a member of the Phoenix branch of the International Wine and Food Society, who was an avid wine collector discovered Steve had a passion for wine. “So many weekends were spent with him, and his cellar, and then we were charted subscribers to Wine Spectator magazine,” Steve shared. “I was an avid reader of that from cover to cover, and again it just fueled my exploration of trying wines from all over.”
The couple’s affection for food and wine led them to buying the Babcock and Miles Market. Steve had previously worked for the Porths so knew his way around the business.
These days a team procures the treasures available at the market. Willis Johnson takes on the role of head chef for the wine bar and café while acting as the cheese monger. The Haman’s son, Matt, selects the beers, Kim the sparkling wines and chocolates, and Steve, the wines.
Over the years, customers expressed a want to have a chance to taste the wine and food sold at the market before purchasing the items. Opening the wine bar and café offered that opportunity. “At the wine bar we currently offer 25 different wines by the glass including three different sparkling wines.” During the market’s business hours, customers can buy a bottle of wine and bring it to the wine bar and café to enjoy. “You have 1100 different wines to choose from,” Steve said. “We’re more than happy to uncork your bottle for you and lead you through the evening enjoying wine and a charcuterie board.”
The new mountain modern themed space opened early this summer, debuted during the Red Lodge Songwriter Festival. The efforts of architect Eric Simonsen, Langlas Construction, kitchen designer Michael Miles, and interior decorator Kim Dalton helped realize the limestone and metal fronted building. Steve termed the style as “historic Red Lodge meets sophisticated or “bourgey” Babcock and Miles.”
The guest enters into a cozy spot softened with wood and wallpaper. A mural of 12th Street and Broadway welcomes the guest when they step into the foyer. Historic photos from Red Lodge’s yesteryears grace the walls of the main room. A 16-foot bar with a padded rail anchors the room with windows bringing the outdoor patio and 12th street in. The backdrop of the bar changes with shelves and panels that slide and move coffee cups in by day and wine glasses in by the evening.
The order counter next to the bar invites customers to settle into the dining room for a cup of coffee or glass of wine or quickly come in and grab premade sandwiches, salads, yogurt parfaits or pastries from an open front merchandiser. While the charcuterie boards are the most popular for sharing, the Montana Wagyu pastrami sandwich and Caprese Sandwich stand out as individual choices.
A small service kitchen stands behind the order counter while “there’s a full prep kitchen in the basement of this building, and that is nearly 45-feet long, and we have a culinary team that arrives at 6:45 in the morning. They start the prep of breakfast sandwiches, yogurt parfaits, and the salads. By midday, they’re prepping the boards for the evening, getting the dinner menu going.” Offerings, made fresh daily and in tune with the seasons, present flavors and products made locally and from around the world.
“Our menu is really designed to complement the other restaurants in Red Lodge. Come to Babcock and Miles and have a glass of wine or charcuterie board before you to one of the other restaurants in town, or you’ve been to that restaurant and you want to come by and have a glass of wine before you head home,” Kim said.
At the new Babcock and Miles Wine Bar and Café, Steve and Kim Haman are living up to their reputation as merchants of the delectable, serving up worldly sips and savors, making their dreams and pigs fly.
