BELLE FOURCHE—The Pioneer Bank & Trust parking lot transformed into what seemed like a fancy car showroom on August 22 car enthusiasts from around the are gathered in Belle Fourche for Cars and Coffee of the Black Hills. Old and new cars alike spilled out into the side roads, giving the public plenty to check out while sipping their coffee.
The Pioneer Bank & Trust partnered up with the Center of the Nation Business Association (CONBA) and Wild Magnolia to bring the event to town. This event is a little different than the typical monthly Car and Coffee shows held around the Black Hills all summer long. “The Belle Fourche event is special because Pioneer Bank & Trust and CONBA, the Center of the Nation Business Association, both work with us. They have the donuts and the door prizes and all that,” explained Jeremiah Lewis with Cars and Coffee. “This one is extra cool because it’s like an event for the whole town that people come to. Other places we’ve got the whatever coffee shop or coffee truck we go to, but this one is a big one just because everybody working together—it’s always a good event.”
The Pioneer Bank & Trust employees were on hand helping out with the event. They had a table set up filled with door prizes. They also handed out fresh donuts and hot coffee all morning.
Wild Magnolia Coffee Bar was this month’s highlighted coffee business, and coffee vouchers were handed out during the Car Show. “This event, specifically because of Pioneer Bank & Trust and CONBA, is a big deal. We do very little with this event, so it’s one of our favorite events because it’s very low stress for us—they do so much of the heavy lifting,” shared Lewis.
There is no preregistration for the Car and Coffee shows. No entry fees and no judging. It is a laid-back, fun atmosphere created for those who just want to show off their prized possessions with others who want to do the same. “That’s one of my favorite things, you get kind of rusty piles that barely run, and you get six-figure show cars that are parked next to each other—you get the gamut—there’s something for everybody,” said Lewis. “No registration, no judging, no anything. Basically, you can roll in if you want to stay for 10 minutes, you can roll out.”
Cars and Coffee is a nationally known movement with independent local clubs hosting informal morning meetups. Most events are once a month in the same location, but Cars and Coffee of the Black Hills rotates communities and coffee shops throughout the season. The Black Hills group does it differently on purpose. “This is just kind of our own unique twist on it. Most of them are at one location every single event, either a coffee shop or some sort of car attraction,” explained Lewis. “The nice thing about the twist that we’ve put on it is we go to a different location throughout the hills. It seems like every event you go to, you get cars that only come to that event. So at the Belle Fourche event, we get people that won’t ever go to a Rapid event or a Sturgis event, but they come to this event. So it’s kind of nice—you do get different cars.”
The event had a great turnout. Side roads were blocked off, leaving plenty of room for cars to park and visitors to talk and enjoy all of the beautiful cars. “It’s different cars every single place we go and just a reason to get out, have a cup of coffee and check out people’s cars with no judging and no stress,” said Lewis.
The next Cars and Coffee of the Black Hills is Saturday, September 19, at Ziggis Coffee in Rapid City, beginning at 9 a.m. and running through 11 a.m.
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