Business Bites: Rib and Chop hiring; Chipotle, Qdoba opening next month; Colored Snow closing; Great Falls Honda ownership change; Highway 55 off; Alumni Club sold; Unhitched boutique; Scheels is not moving; Dream Street is Sept. 27; Mac Attack open
Rib and Chop
The Rib and Chop House restaurant in the former Wells Fargo building at the corner of 1st Avenue North and 3rd Street is set to open in late October.
Finally Restaurant Group, which owns the restaurant, began hiring on Sept. 25 and plans to hire more than 100 people in the coming weeks.
Those interested in positions can apply here.
The new restaurant will have 225 seats, including a 1,200 square-foot outdoor patio with seating for 40, according to the company.
Rib and Chop House was founded in 2001 and is owned and operated by Finally Restaurant Group in Bozeman.
Chipotle
The new Chipotle is scheduled to open next month at 1900 10th Ave. S., the franchise told The Electric.
It will include the brand’s Chipotlane, a drive-thru pickup lane that allows guests to pick up digital orders without leaving their cars.
Qdoba
The new Qdoba in West Bank at 415 3rd St. N.W. is set to open mid-October.
Great Falls Honda
Bryant McCarver has purchased the Great Falls Honda dealership.
He’s been in the automotive retail business for about 30 years and owns and Subaru dealership in Northern California.
His family has owned that store for those 30 years and he’d been searching for an opportunity with Honda for awhile.
“When the deal for the store here in Great Falls came up, I jumped on a plane and came here to visit Great Falls. Needless to say, my visit went well, and I came away with a real appreciation for the area,” McCarver told The Electric.
He said the dealership has “an amazing team” and “we are bringing our family atmosphere and culture to this store and it is well received by my fellow team members here.”
McCarver has moved to Great Falls and is planning on spending a majority of his time here growing the business.
Colored Snow
Colored Snow is closing.
Darby Imperi, the owner, said she’s “in a season of life where I’m just not able to give my all to the business and enjoying my time being home with my daughter. Thank you for supporting Colored Snow these last few years. You all mean so much to my small business.”
The trailer, ice shavers and supplies are for sale.
Highway 55
The Highway 55 burger restaurant planned for West Bank is off.
Dave Thompson, Hwy-55’s chief business development officer, told The Electric that construction bids came in too high.
“As of right now it looks like we’re passing on this location unless the developer can make the numbers work,” he said.
Business Bites: Belles and Lace, Bed Bath and Beyond closing; first Arc Apartments getting ready to open; Phoenix Tea open; second Al Banco spot open; permits for new restaurants including Highway 55; Montana Credit Union expanding; Wendy’s still looking for second location
Unhitched Mobile Boutique
Gina Lopes has launched the Unhitched Mobile Boutique.
It’s a trailer she sets up at various locations with women’s clothing and accessories.
She said when she moved to Great Falls, she thought it would be something fun.
“I can change things seasonally, based on events, based on whatever is going on and where. I would love for my focus to be in Great falls, offering something new and fun for women. I would say my age target is 30-50’s maybe even 60’s if you’re up for some fun” Lopes told The Electric.
She said she did research last year and started to piece her ideas together before launching the boutique this month. She said she’s planning to a few small things this season and then be ready for events next year.
Author event at Cassiopeia
Cassiopeia Books is hosting an meet and greet with Montana author Donna Anderson at 6 p.m. Oct. 5.
Anderson is a Montana farmer and rancher, living on her great grandparent’s homestead with her husband and family, and she has written three Christian romances.
Alumni Club
The Alumni Club sale has been completed.
Jason Brown said he’s a major stockholder in Brown Family Entertainment Company, which bought the former Alumni Club.
They have a new liquor and gaming licenses, Brown said.
The new name is Whiskey Ridge. They plan on having live music a few night a week, karaoke and more.
Mac Attack
Mac Attack is now operating out of Firehouse Steamers.
They’ll be open Tuesday through Saturday, with the drive-through open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and the lobby open 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Dream Street
NeighborWorks Great Falls is hosting the annual Dream Street event from 4-6 p.m. Sept. 27 to recognize the latest group of 10 families building their homes through the mutual self-help housing program.
The event will be at 2109 23rd Ave. S.
The families have been building their homes since September 2022 in the program funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development division. Through the program, qualified buyers earn substantial equity, called “sweat equity”, that makes their home affordable.
None of the families can move in until all 10 homes are complete and they often work to help each other.
Invest Great Falls
Great Falls Development Alliance is hosting Invest Downtown on Oct. 18 at 9 .m.
City Commission approves two downtown TIF projects
“Learn what made our most popular downtown businesses succeed; hear about new development opportunities; and explore the vision for the future of Downtown Great Falls. Are you a developer, entrepreneur, business owner? This is for you,” according to GFDA.
Scheels
We regularly are asked about rumors that Scheels has bought property and is moving.
We check with the Great Falls store every time and as of Sept. 21, Scheels is not leaving their current location at Holiday Village Mall.
Malmstrom contract
The 341st Contracting Squadron at Malmstrom Air Force Base has awarded a contract for camera installation to Geranios Enterprises of Great Falls for $127,626.95.
The period of performance for this award is 120 calendar days after issuance of the notice to proceed.
Guard enlistment incentive
Beginning Oct. 1, a new Montana National Guard enlistment incentive program takes effect.
This program, the Guard Referral Incentive Program, will provide $500 payments to honorably discharged veterans who refer someone to the Montana National Guard.
Payments will only be made once a referred individual enlists.
“The Montana National Guard recognizes that veterans are our best recruiters, being able to speak directly to potential recruits about their time in service. The GRIP program allows us to support conversations like these and demonstrate the importance of veteran referrals to the strength of our National Guard,” according to the Montana Guard.
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