Business Bites: JBs closed; Craft Beer Week; Lewis and Clark Festival; Chase Your Dreams closing; Big Sky Big Dreams for sale; Prairie Mountain River Adventures; Pizza Ranch, Joann updates; Juneteenth; Giant Springs activities; Arts on Fire; Big Dipper, arcade open; Yarn and Honey moving
JBs
JBs at 1322 10th Ave. S. has closed.
4Bs, 4610 10th Ave. S. remains open but the restaurant is for sale for $1 million.
Rumors swirled last week on social media about the closures and that JBs was being demolished for a Panera Bread.
According to the city planning office, no demolition permit applications have been submitted for either JBs or 4Bs.
City planning officials told The Electric they have not been contacted by Panera for any project in Great Falls.
There have been rumors of a Panera over the years and The Electric contacted the company each time, multiple times in 2018, 2021 and this year. The company has not responded to any of those queries.
Panera has three locations open in Montana and a Helena location is currently under construction.
According to Cadastral, the state property records system, JBs and 4Bs are owned by the same company, Star Buffet Inc. The chief executive of that company died last fall and all listed phone numbers for the company are no longer in service.
When there are updates on any of the properties or a Panera location, we’ll report them.
Bloom and Bean
Bloom and Bean is moving into 117 Park Drive S., the former Real Deals space in downtown.
The owner is hoping to move into the space in July and open shortly after the move.
Rage Rooms of Montana
Rage Rooms of Montana has been purchased by Asia Goldsberry and will remain open.
Goldsberry takes ownership July 1 and they’ll be having a grand reopening July 7 with food trucks, giveaways and a car smash for charity, according to the outgoing owners.
Airport industrial park
Jackson Group Peterbilt will be occupying the entire Phase I of the new airport light industrial park on the I-15
Frontage Road near the Cascade County Sheriff’s Office.
The Phase I building is 7,700 square feet of high bay space.
Construction will be complete on the building in June.
Additional phases of this project are currently being planned on the 300 acres of available land, according to the Great Falls International Airport Authority.
City approves bond sale for airport improvements [2023]
The airport light industrial park is a joint venture between the Great Falls International Airport Authority and Dick
Anderson Construction.
Light industrial building bays are available for lease or sale from 2,500 square feet to 40,000 square feet or more.
Jackson Group operates 32 Peterbilt dealerships in the western U.S. ranging from Oregon to Colorado and this location will be the only Peterbilt dealership on I-15 from Lethbridge, Canada to Idaho Falls, Idaho, according to the airport.
The official opening of the location will be in August, but the service department will open in early July.
Contact Lara at 406-727-3404 for more details on the available space in the light industrial park at the airport.
Craft Beer Week
It’s Great Falls Craft Beer Week through June 22.
The week includes downtown concerts, tap takeovers, dinner pairings, trivia nights and Montana’s biggest brew fest.
The Montana Brew Fest is June 22 downtown and tickets are available here.
General admission tickets are $40 and allow entrance from 5-8 p.m. with a tasting cup.
The Melissa Lynn Band will be playing and food trucks will be on hand.
Volunteers are still needed to help with set up, cleanup games during the golf scramble, the ticket gate and beer pouring.
Lewis and Clark Festival
The Lewis and Clark Festival is June 21-22.
The event is free and family friendly at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center.
On June 21, from 7-8 p.m., Moki Hipol, master storyteller, “takes you on an unforgettable adventure back in time as he brings two of America’s most notable mountain men, George Drouillard and Jean Baptist to life.”
The event includes a performance by the Vocal Patriots and the parade of colors.
On June 22, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., there will be encampment presentations that include a bullboat exhibit, living history of George Catlin, a living history exhibit portraying the mountain that would soon follow the expedition and
Montana artisans.
The June 22 event includes:
- A swivel gun demo at 9:30 a.m.
- Atlatl demo at 10 a.m.
- beaver skinning at 11 a.m.
- Kootenai Salish Dancers at noon and 3 p.m.
- Lewis and Clark Adventure Challenge run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.: this family friendly activity has six different stations that focus on different aspects of the expedition. Participants will get an adventure map, swag bag and instructions.
- theater presentations: 11 a.m.-Blackfeet Elder Leon Rattler; 1 p.m. Caitlyn Clark; 2 p.m. Ron Ukrainetz
- lobby presentations include medicines of the Corps of Discovery, Honor Guard period weapons, American Prairie, Bob Marshall Wilderness, Montana Reptile Rescue; and more.
- food trucks
Coffee Republic
Coffee Republic is opening a new location June 21 at 1608 Fox Farm Road.
Chase Your Dreams
Chase Your Dreams, virtual reality arcade, is closing downtown and the space is for rent.
Chase Morgan has run the arcade since 2020, but is closing June 30 as he has joined the Air National Guard and will be attending the University of Providence.
“I want to extend my deepest gratitude to everyone who has walked through our doors, believed in me, and supported this venture. Serving the people of Great Falls by spreading joy and smiles to all ages has been an honor and a true highlight of my life,” Morgan said in a Facebook post.
Prairie Mountain River Adventures
Ken Speidel is opening Prairie Mountain River Adventures on July 1.
He’s been working for Montana River Outfitters as a scenic guide and as the company closes this month, he’s picking up a portion of the river activities.
He’s based out of Cascade and will provide guided scenic rafting and kayaking tours.
Speidel said he’s not picking up merchandise sales, fishing trips, shuttles or rentals that Montana River Outfitters offered.
For at least the first year, he said he won’t have a storefront.
“With the closure of MRO, it effectively ends all local scenic guided raft trips as I do not believe anyone else offers this option in the local area. While there are many opportunities for guided fishing trips, especially up here near Cascade and Craig, guided scenic trips represent a much smaller, albeit important market. I did not want to see this aspect of local tourism disappear, which is why I decided to sustain the guided scenic operations,” Speidel told The Electric.
Pizza Ranch
Pizza Ranch submitted a building permit to the city planning office in early June for the old Joann Fabrics location at 2515 10th Ave. S.
City staff is reviewing the application.
A spokeswoman for Joann Fabrics told The Electric that the existing store is liquidating and closing on June 23.
She said that the company is opening a new store later this year.
City planning said Joann pulled a permit in 2022 for 1200 10th Ave. S., in the Holiday Village Mall, and has not made any changes to the location in their office.
Big Sky Big Dreams
The owners of Big Sky Big Dreams are selling their business after two years.
Julia Doney and Katie Finnicum said in a Facebook post that “due to unforeseen health issues and time constraints, we find ourselves unable to provide our clients with the magical experiences they deserve. It’s a tough decision, but we believe it’s the right one. We’ve always dreamed of seeing it flourish and reach its full potential. We believe that with the right person at the helm, this dream can still become a reality.”
They aren’t booking any further parties until a new owner steps in.
Anyone interested in purchasing the business should purchase Doney and Finnicum.
The Cage
The Cage Batting Club has opened at 1128 25th Ave. N.E.
Juneteenth
The Great Falls Library and community groups are hosting Juneteenth, which marks the end of slavery in the U.S., from noon to 3 p.m. June 22 at the Gibson Park bandshell.
The event is free and open to the public.
The event includes an educational program, free food, music, games and more.
Third Avenue Film Company
Chelsea Lyle has launched Third Avenue Film Company for photo and video.
Bike Park
The Great Falls Bike Club is working with Park and Recreation and the People’s Park and Recreation Foundation to develop a bike park.
The design has been completed for a bike park to be built in an underutilized portion of Elks Riverside Park, according to Brian Thompson, one of the organizers of the effort.
The park would be open to the public with a longer track and an area that kids can learn to ride, Thompson said, along with intermediate and advanced sections.
Thompson said the track would be paved so it could be used year-round and would be a safe place for people to learn to ride. The park would be centrally located, making it more accessible to kids who can’t get out to the skills park that the Great Falls Bike Club built off the River’s Edge Trail.
Thompson said that once they fundraise enough to build the park, they hope to host races and community events.
Thompson said they estimate the total project cost to be about $300,000 and they’re hoping to raise $100,000 by January 2025.
Donations can be made through the Peoples Park and Recreation Foundation by mail, P.O Box 2106, Great Falls, MT 59403 or their website.
Be sure to put Electric City bike park in the memo line or “special instructions to the seller” online.
Great Falls Emergency Services
Great Falls Emergency Services is constructing a new ambulance bay at their facility at 514 9th Ave. S.
Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art is hosting the Arts on Fire Festival on Sept. 14.
Organizers are looking for the following:
- K-12 students can enter the t-shirt design contest by July 14
- anyone in the community can submit drawings for the annual coloring book by Aug. 17. For questions, contact Sara Johnson at sjohnson@the-square.org
- interested in volunteering to perform music at the event? Email Nicole Evans at nicole@the-square.org
- interested in selling your artwork and handmade items in Artist Alley? Email Brent Viste at brent@the-square.org
- interested in volunteering at art activity booths, or during setup/cleanup? Email Sarah Justice at sarah@the-square.org
- interested in donating to help offset some of the cost of putting on this free annual event? Visit www.the-square.org/support
Malmstrom command change, contracts
The 341st Contracting Squadron at Malmstrom Air Force Base has awarded a requirements type contract for pavement paint marking with a contract ceiling of $2,999,999.99 to Highway Specialties Inc., of Great Falls.
The initial ordering period of the contract is set for five years and contains an optional two year ordering period should the optional period be exercised.
Col. Daniel Voorhies assumed command as the new 341st Missile Wing commander on June 5 from Col. Barry Little.
Little was commander since July 2022 and retired from active duty after more that 26 years.
Voorhies was previously assigned to Malmstrom as the 341st Missile Wing deputy commander. He returned to Malmstrom after serving in 20th Air Force staff positions at F.E. Warren AFB in Wyoming.
Civilian incentive
Air Force Global Strike Command’s directorate of manpower, personnel and services has approved a command-wide civilian retention incentive for eligible civilians beginning in July.
The initiative is designed to attract and retain high performing civilians with a 10 percent retention incentive for eligible employees, according to AFGSC.
Eligible appropriated fund employees must be serving at a AFGSC installation for six consecutive months and have a fully successful annual appraisal to receive the retention incentive. The incentive is 10 percent of the employee’s base pay and paid each pay period.Civilian employees at Barksdale, Minot, Ellsworth, Whiteman, Kirtland, Dyess, Malmstrom and F.E. Warren. Air Force bases will receive notice of their eligibility from their servicing civilian personnel office beginning in June with implementation no later than July 31, according to AFGSC.
Salvation Army Great Falls
The Salvation Army Great Falls has opened a client choice food pantry at 527 9th Ave. S. and is in need of volunteers.
Clients are able to choose what food they want versus older style food boxes. Clients are able to shop once every 30 days.
The pantry is open 10 a.m. to noon and 1-3 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The Salvation Army is looking for volunteers to help with stocking. For questions, call Teresa at 406-761-5660.
Giant Springs events
Giant Springs State Park is hosting trivia in the park on Tuesday nights in July.
Trivia nights will resume in August and September with a time change according to sunset.
Teams of seven or less can compete in random category, family-friendly trivia presented by park staff.
The events will be in the grassy area in front of Giant Springs.
Participants can bring lawn chairs, blankets, food and drink for four rounds of trivia with 10 questions each.
Prizes will be awarded to the top three scoring teams and registration is not required.
Giant Springs State Park is hosting a Junior Ranger Bird Bonanza on July 21.
Children ages 7-12 are invited to an in-person program to become Junior Ranger Certified. Participants will experience an introduction to common birds in the park, tips and tricks to identify them, and learn binocular use.
Participants will join park staff on a guided bird walk along a portion of the River’s Edge Trail for 30 minutes.
The hike will be conducted on the East Coulee Trail which is a single track, gravel trail that does not accommodate strollers.
Other portions of the program will include a crafting opportunity and Junior Ranger Promise.
Registration is required for this program and spots are limited. Younger siblings and parents are welcome to come and participate without registration. This event will work best for children with parental supervision.
Register by filling out this form or calling the ranger station at 406-727-1212. Park staff will then contact interested parties via email to confirm their attendance.
Yarn and Honey
Yarn and Honey is moving from the 600 block of Central to 920 Central Ave.
Owner Carrie Jensen said she’s hoping to open in the new space by September, depending on the progress of the remodel.
Fiber
There are two active permits for fiber installation within the city limits, according to public works.
Those permits are TDS, which is doing underground installation, and Ziply, which is planning primarily overhead lines powered by hub cabinets, according to public works.
Since fiber permits and fees were approved by City Commissioners in 2022, city engineering has approved eight different ‘linear underground’ companies to work in the right of way.
Charter/Spectrum has done small projects and five other companies submit applications sporadically, according to public works.
Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity Great Falls Area has launched a new car donation program.
Locals can donate old cars, trucks, RVs or even boats they no longer need.
The only requirements are that the vehicle has a valid title and inflated wheels so it can be towed if not running.
Donations may quality for a tax deduction.
City staff has been working with Alluvion Health and Sletten to get streets and sidewalks operational and safe around the Rocky Mountain Building at the corner of Central Avenue and 6th Street.
Alluvion paused construction on the project last summer and the crane was removed in May.
Sletten and subcontractors have placed liens on the property for unpaid invoices totaling more than $4 million.
According to city staff, the current status of the streets and sidewalks:
- 6th Street North: The roadway has been reopened and half off the sidewalk is open. Alluvion is maintaining a fenced/barricaded perimeter to keep individuals away from the building for safety and security.
- Central Avenue: Alluvion has swept the inside of the conex and planned to power wash it this month. The intent is to remove the conexes and direct pedestrian traffic back onto the sidewalk, but before that occurs Sletten has engaged with the structural engineer to assess the integrity of the building façade on the southeast corner of the property that has not been braced. Sletten was hoping to get the analysis results from the structural engineer in the next month or so, according to city staff, and then officials will have a better idea of the path to having a safe pathway on the sidewalk.
The Sidequest Arcade Bar and Big Dipper Ice Cream have opened downtown at the corner of Central Avenue and 5th Street.
Got a business bite? Email it to jenn@theelectricgf.com with “business bite” in the subject line.
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