BILLINGS — From 6 a.m. Saturday to 6 a.m. Sunday, Kirk's Grocery celebrated its six-year anniversary with a 24-hour party.
“Occasionally, we still get someone looking for groceries. At this point, I think people really know Kirk’s Grocery means community," said Mary Serbe, co-owner with her husband, Shane De Leon.
Once Billings' first grocery store, but now an art galley that hosts events such as live music, yoga, community meals and art classes, De Leon said he thinks of Kirk's as a community and social center.
“(Kirk's is) like a great day, y’know? A great day — what is it? It is what it is. Why was it a great day? ‘Oh, it had a little bit of breeze, and I had a donut that was good, heard a cool new band,'" said De Leon, about the everchanging state of Kirk's, "I want it to be like that, kinda, just the moment that exists.”
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While Krik's is not a nonprofit, often barely financially breaking even, according to the owners, they said their aim is to make community affordable and accessible through principles of anarchy.
"The less I try to control Kirk’s the better it becomes," said De Leon. "You create a temporary autonomous zone. You create a zone where people can feel freedom inside a system that doesn’t allow freedom."
The teachings of punk rock, travel, and church are what molded Kirk's changing purpose, according to De Leon, often referenced and connected to the community emphasis by owners and patrons alike in the space's motto: "For the common good."
“I didn’t see what I thought was the lesson I learned from church being – That didn’t seem to be the part of religion that people cared about," said De Leon. "The ideology is definitely like punk rock and anarchism, but … That’s what I see the bible as, as well.”
Most said what makes Kirk's truly special, however, is the people who fill the space. The owners encourage patrons to join them whether they are paying for events or looking for a space to spend time with others.
"This is a space where all these friendships revolve around fun, around the arts, around challenging each other with our ideas," said Serbe.
Kirk's Grocery is open Thursday through Saturday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
