Business Bites: Cowboy Slick opening downtown; car show and movie in the park this weekend; restaurants moving; events at The History Museum and The Square; data center task force meeting; Boot Barn; Spirit Halloween; Stock the Block for Baatz apartments; and more
Cowboy Slick
After a year and a half of demolition and determination, a historic downtown Great Falls building is getting a new lease on life.
Shirstie Gaylord, owner of the Montana gift shop Hometana, is opening a new sister brand called Cowboy Slick.
With the tagline “Witty Gifts with Grit,” Cowboy Slick will feature a collection of sassy gifts and unique finds with a western flair.
Much like Hometana, many of the products will be designed in-house by Gaylord, bringing her creative talents to an even broader collection of exclusive gifts for Central Montana.
The new shop will be located at 117 Central Ave., which was built in 1886.
“Saving one of the oldest buildings in downtown Great Falls has been painstaking and rewarding,” Gaylord said. “Downtown Great Falls is thriving and we’re proud to be part of that story. The incredible support from this community has made projects like this possible. This is our way of creating something that matches the town’s heart, character, and grit.”
Cowboy Slick is expected to open this fall and the east exterior wall will be transformed into a mural during the Great Walls mural festival that begins Aug. 16.
Car Show
The 2nd Annual Buffalo Blanc Coffee and Car Classic is Aug. 15 in the Great Falls High School parking lot, across from Buffalo Blanc.
Free car registration begins at 8 a.m. and the public show begins at 10 a.m.
Awards will be announced at 2 p.m.
Movie in the Park
The Gibson Park Snack Shack ishosting Movie in the Park, featuring “Spider-Man: No Way Home” on Aug. 15, weather permitting.
The movie will begin a little after 9 p.m., as soon as it gets dark enough, in Gibson Park near the bandshell.
The movie is free, so grab the lawn chairs or a blanket and take the family to the park for an evening under the stars.
The family-friendly event features fun kids’ activities, including face painting from 7-9 p.m.
Saibeen’s Kitchen
Saibeen’s Kitchen is moving back downtown, with the new location in the Times Square building at 525 Central Ave.
She’ll be wrapping up operations in the Columbus Center at the end of August.
Once she’s set up in the new location, she’s planning to extend her hours and days.
River and Range Bistro
River and Range Bistro will be taking over the Saibeen’s space, where they’ve been operating on Friday and Saturday nights.
While the bistro revamps the dining room space, River and Range will set up temporarily in the Columbus Center chapel.
Once that work is done, they’ll relaunch the bistro with expanded hours, a larger menu, and beer and wine.
Great Falls Theatre Company
The Great Falls Theatre Company released the shows for their upcoming season.
A Charlie Brown Christmas is set for December.
Their spring show is The Importance of Being Earnest.
The summer musical is Into the Woods.
Season tickets are on sale here.
Boot Barn
Yes, there’s construction happening near the former Joann space at Holiday Village Mall.
It’s the new Boot Barn that we reported was planned for the mall back in November.
We reported in April that Boot Barn had submitted a tenant improvement application, according to the city planning office.
In July, the city issued a permit for a commercial alteration demolition to split space for tenant improvements.
Spirit Halloween
Spirit Halloween has opened in Marketplace in the former Office Max.
There was some speculation on social media over the last week that Spirit moved because something was being done in its previous spot at the former Bed, Bath and Beyond.
As of Aug. 10, city planning officials said there were no current plans for the former BBB space.
The History Museum
The History Museum and Research Center is opening a new exhibit with a reception on Aug. 21.
In 2023, the Ursuline Sisters of the Western Province entrusted their vast archives to The History Museum “as an act of healing, transparency, and trust.”
That collection, now accessible through the Owen and Gayle Robinson Research Center for Tribal Nations, descendants, and scholars, forms the heart of the museum’s newest exhibition, “Voices of Our Ancestors: The Records of St. Peter’s Mission Boarding School.”
Located in Cascade County, St. Peter’s Mission was Montana’s only off-reservation, Catholic, Native American boarding school.
Through letters, diaries, ledgers, and photographs — handwritten and preserved with care by the Sisters for more than a century — the exhibition honors the children who attended the school, their families, and those who cared for them.
“The records bear witness to joy and hardship, loss and resilience, and illuminate one of the most transformative and devastating eras in central Montana history: the Boarding School Era,” according to the museum.
“The Ursuline Sisters have long lamented the suffering caused by Native boarding schools and the generational trauma that continues to this day. We acknowledge that racism in our country is real, and we apologize for our part in the harm that colonialism has caused. We have brought our archival records here to the Cascade County Historical Society to make them available to all, especially the Native Peoples of Montana. Supporting this exhibit, which gives a glimpse into the past at St. Peter’s Mission, is another effort in truth telling and healing,” the Ursuline Sisters said in a statement provided by the museum.
The History Museum is hosting a special, free to the pubic opening reception at 6 p.m. Aug. 21 in the Ozark Club event room with light refreshments, entertainment, and a presentation by exhibition curator James Grant (Little Shell Chippewa).
Data Center Task Force meeting
The Great Falls Development Alliance is hosting its fifth Data Center Task Force meeting from 5-6:30 p.m. Aug. 26 at the Great Falls Association of Realtors, 401 13th Ave. S.
This meeting’s speaker is Bob Morris, the current Lance Energy Chair at Montana Tech and a member of Gov. Greg Gianforte’s Energy Task Force.
Download the notes from our fourth meeting here.
GFDA requests that attendees RSVP here so they can plan for how many are attending.
2Js meat freezer
2J’s Fresh Market has partnered with Natural Pork and Beef of Montana to bring a new freezer stocked with their locally raised meats.
From grass-fed beef to locally raised pork and chicken, there’s plenty to choose from, including bacon, hot dogs, chops, burgers, roasts, jerky, sausage, chicken and more.
Downtown restaurant
We’ve been getting questions about what’s going in the former Harvest Craft Kitchen space at 220 Central Ave., attached to the Baymont by Wyndham.
We checked with the city for permits and none of the usual development suspects knew what it was.
So, we called the hotel’s front desk.
The man who answered the phone said the hotel’s general manager was opening a restaurant in another month or so.
We’ll update as we nail down those details.
GFPD Citizens Academy
The Great Falls Police Department is accepting applications for its next Citizens Academy.
Classes begin Sept. 17. and runs through Nov. 12.
Classes are Thursday nights from 6-9 p.m.
The program is free and dinner is provided.
Participants must be 18 and be able to pass a background check.
Apply here.
Stock the Block
NeighborWorks Great Falls has kicked off Stock the Block, a community drive to help stock the Baatz Residents Pantry at Baatz Block Apartments.
NWGF is collecting food, toiletries, cleaning supplies, and other everyday essentials to ensure residents have access to the things they need.
- donating needed items
- hosting a collection box at your business or organization
- sharing the drive with your staff, friends, or network
Donations can be dropped off at 400 2nd Ave. S.
Speech therapy
Brave Speech and Language, a local program, is launching weekly SPEAK OUT classes for people with Parkinson’s and related disorders in the Great Falls community beginning Aug. 26.
After that, classes will be every Wednesday from 6-6:30 p.m. at the Columbus Center’s first-floor conference room.
The classes are free.
Participants must have previously completed SPEAK OUT therapy, giving them an opportunity to continue practicing the skills they learned while communicating with others who are also living with Parkinson’s or related disorders.
Paris Gibson Square exhibit
Paris Gibson Square Museum of Art is hosting a traveling exhibition featuring Wyoming artist Tawni Shuler.
In Mythos & Fairy Tales opened June 16 and is on view through Oct. 24.
A reception and artist talk with Shuler is set for Aug. 28 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public.
Got a business bite? Email it to jenn@theelectricgf.com with ‘business bite’ in the subject line and the details in text form in the body of the email.
