Business Bites: Harvest Craft Kitchen opens; Purple Gold back at it; NorMont building new facility; Montana Valley Irrigation opens new location
Harvest Craft Kitchen
Harvest Craft Kitchen opened April 8 in the former Tap House Grill at 220 Central Ave.
The new restaurant is open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for takeout Monday through Friday.
Matt Black is originally from Pennsylvania and owned a barbecue restaurant in South Carolina, as well as a deli shop and gastropub.
He’d lived in Montana for about five years in his 20s and went on to do an apprenticeship with two French chefs for a few years.
Black said he’s been opening restaurants for the past 16 years and came out to Montana in August 2018 to see some friends. He ended up moving to Missoula in May 2019 and wanted to open a restaurant but it was too expensive there, he said.
He met some people from Great Falls and decided to move here since it was more affordable. He found the former Tap House space on Central for rent with a full kitchen.
“It was the right time and right place, so here I am,” Black told The Electric.
The restaurant will be a place “that celebrates the craft of food being cooked,” he said, and he plans to work with as many local farmers, ranchers and butchers as possible.
Black said is eventually his plan is to dinners of about 60 “awesome plates of food” and has plans for a gastropub lounge maybe next year.
Since taking over the space earlier this year, he’s been cleaning the equipment, replacing burst pipes and updating some light fixtures. The booths are mounted to concrete blocks, so they’re staying, he said, but he made new tabletops since he does woodworking as a hobby.
Black said he’d put so much money into the space and was running out of cash when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. But he needed to open to bring in revenue and worked with health departments to get inspected and open.
Despite the strange times for businesses caused by the pandemic, Black said it’s a good time for him to open. He’s got a scaled down menu of soups, sandwiches and salads for to-go orders. He’s baking the bread and roasting the meats in house.
“For me, it’s a good time. I can see what people like, work the kinks out,” Black said.
He’s planning to take down the black awning and repaint the exterior as well.
Food Trucks
The Heritage Inn is offering their parking lot to food trucks since the hotel isn’t full during the COVID-19 outbreak.
If you have a food truck that you would like to set up, contact the hotel at 406-761-1900 and ask for extension #192 to get started.
Purple Gold
Purple Gold is back in operation. Find their schedule and details on their Facebook page.
NorMont Equipment
NorMont Equipment is working on their new building located at 2101 9th Avenue NW in Great Falls. The 12,000 structure is scheduled to open later this spring. They are moving from their 3,500 square foot space which will enable them to hire more employees and greatly expand their business. You can see a 360 degree video of the progress on the new building here.
Montana Valley Irrigation
Montana Valley Irrigation has opened a new location in the Manchester industrial park at 1 Windmill View Loop.
“We are very excited to provide our community with a convenient location to fulfill all of their agricultural irrigation needs. We are committed to providing our customers the very best in parts and service, and feel confident that this new location will help us to do so,” said owner Chris Music.
A family owned and operated Valley dealer, Montana Valley Irrigation offers irrigation products, service technicians, parts supply and knowledgeable agronomic support.
They offer a full line of parts for all types and brands of agricultural irrigation systems.
Growers can obtain additional information about Valley Products from Montana Valley Irrigation by calling 406-761-8195, coming to the new shop or by visiting http://www.montanavalleyirrigation.com.
Got a Business Bite? Send it to jenn@theelectricgf.com
