General Mercantile — Restaurant in Helena

I visited 'The Merc' in Helena and my first impression was that it was a cool little hipster coffee shop. It seemed very rustic and had a vibe that sort of reminded me of Butterfly Herbs in Missoula. I ordered a vanilla latte and it was very good and I thought the guy at the front counter was friendly and had excellent customer service skills. However, after I sat down and pulled out my computer the owner (I assume) came over with my drink and immediately informed me that they don't allow laptops and pointed to a small sign on the table that I hadn't yet seen. She asked me if I wanted a to-go cup right away, and I said I would just stay and finish my drink. I can appreciate that they want to maintain a particular atmosphere in the coffee shop, but I think they need better signing for their laptop policy to avoid these interactions that could potentially be awkward for the customer. I recommend going to The Hub if you want to work on your computer and drink coffee as it was laptop friendly. Either way, I think it's a neat little shop with excellent coffee and I appreciated the experience even though I was nearly ejected for breaking out my Mac...

We come here every Saturday with my brother and his kiddos. Usually they dont make us pay till we leave which is great for when you have kids that like to run and play. This one staff member was very flirty with my brother. He asked for her number as shes in his age group and seemed to like him. Well she made him feel super awawkwa about it. the next week we came she had a different girl ring him up(understandable i guess) however this different employee made my brother pay up front and accused him of walking out without paying the week before. wichw isnt true because he asked for the girls number as he was paying to leave. Today we spoke with the manager about the employees unprofessional behavior the manager just brushed it off like she didnt even care that her employee accused a customer of stealing! They continuec to make him uncomfortable about the whole situation. we will NOT be returning to the merc due to their very unprofessional employees. Thanks alot MERC for ruining a family tradition for a 3 year old...

A place that claims to be a "NO HATE" business sure shows a lot of HATE towards our President and anyone who follows the LAW in regards to illegals being allowed to just walk over here. So many items of hate to choose from. So if you want to spend your money in a store that degrades our President and wants everyone who wants immigration to be deported as their merchandise states is welcome. Otherwise if you love America and feel a business should not sell merchandise degrading our President and calling others names for wanting the law to be followed should not spend your dollars here. Also please note, no illegals, blacks or muslims are hired by this store. Why is that? Racist? I contacted store and was told my facebook was fake and they don't plan to take down their hate merchandise and I should...