In Business Progress Winter 2016/17

WESTERN MONTANA

BUSINESS WINTER 2016-17

PROGRESS EDITION NEW AND IMPROVED WESTERN MONTANA BUSINESSES

KURT WILSON, Missoulian

2 — Western Montana InBusiness, Winter 2016-17

Home, Work by the Numbers Nov. 2015

464,400 7,300 24,800 19,500 94,700 6,100 25,000 41,300 74,400 67,100 63,600 90,100

461,000 7,600 26,900 19,000 94,800 6,400 23,900 40,400 72,500 64,900 61,400 90,300

2,000 0 2,100 100 -600 0 -100 -400 -100 0 1,000 100

5,400 -300 0 600 -700 -300 1,000 500 1,800 2,200 3,200 -100

*Not seasonally adjusted NOTE: Total non-agricultural uses the summation of all sectors.

3.9%

3.7%

3.3%

3.0%

6.3%

Oct. 2016

6.8%

4.1%

4.8%

Oct. 2015 4.1%

3.4%

Unemployment rate by county

4.5%

Source: Montana Department of Labor and Industry

3.3%

136 127 158 166 193 203

Net Net change change 1 month 1 year

Oct. 2016

6.7%

$256,600 $240,000 $227,000 $216,000 $209,200 $203,500

8.3%

1,164 1,137 1,015 1,109 874 683

7.2%

2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011

7.7%

Missoula urban area for Jan. 1 through Nov. 30, 2016

4.3%

107 128 153 156 230 173

4.3%

$267,000 $238,500 $229,000 $214,300 $209,400 $204,000

Average days on the market

5.0%

97 102 81 85 67 62

Median price

5.2%

2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011

Number of sales

Total nonfarm 466,400 Mining and logging 7,300 Construction 26,900 Manufacturing 19,600 Trade, transportation, utilities 94,100 Information 6,100 Financial activities 24,900 Professional, business services 40,900 Educational, health services 74,300 Health care and social assistance 67,100 Leisure, hospitality 64,600 Government 90,200

5.1%

Year

Nov. 2016

4.9%

Residential market activity in Missoula urban area

Super sector

3.7%

Residential and residential with acreage

Industry employment comparisons

3.8%

Residential market activity in the Missoula area for November 2016

Residential market activity in Missoula County Year

Number of sales

2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011

122 129 102 112 89 82

Median price

$265,000 $238,000 $228,350 $207,250 $209,000 $203,000

Average days on the market

114 134 175 198 239 211

Missoula County for Jan. 1 through Nov. 30, 2016 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011

1,249 1,458 1,299 1,395 1,110 890

$254,950 $239,975 $277,000 $217,420 $206,403 $205,000

147 138 174 176 204 211

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Unemployment in Missoula County, October 2015-October 2016 3.3%

3.6%

4.0%

4.7%

4.6%

4.6%

3.4%

3.1%

3.8%

3.6%

3.5%

3.0%

3.4%

Oct.

Nov. 2015

Dec.

Jan.

Feb.

March

April

May June 2016

July

Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

Unemployment in Montana, October 2015-October 2016 3.7%

4.1%

4.3%

5.1%

5.1%

5.0%

3.9%

3.6%

4.2%

3.9%

3.9%

3.5%

3.9%

Oct.

Nov. 2015

Dec.

Jan.

Feb.

March

April

May June 2016

July

Aug.

Sept.

Oct.

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Source: Missoula Organization of Realtors

ell

w Po

NOTE: Not seasonally adjusted.

KEN BARNEDT, MISSOULIAN

Winter 2016-17, Vol. 4, No. 4 Western Montana InBusiness is a publication of the Missoulian

Publisher Mark Heintzelman Editor Kathy Best

Reporter: David Erickson Photographers: Tom Bauer, Tommy Martino, Kurt Wilson, Tyler Wilson

Advertising Jeff Avgeris, 406-523-5216

Mailing address P.O. Box 8029, Missoula, MT 59807-8029 Phone 406-523-5240

INBUSINESS

Western Montana InBusiness, Winter 2016-17 — 3

TrailWest Bank rebrands, adds new locations The past year was busy and filled with growth for TrailWest Bank in Missoula. In February, a newly constructed branch opened at the corner of West Broadway and Palmer, which President and CEO Rich Zins said has been an extremely busy and popular location.

Then, in July, a TrailWest branch opened downtown on East Main and Washington streets, in a shared building with the Missoula Downtown Association. The bank is also in the midst of constructing a new branch in the Old Fort Road Condominium building on Dearborn and Reserve, which is just west of the Goodwill store by Community Medical Center. The branch will occupy a 4,200 square foot space on the first floor of a mixed-use, commercial and residential

condo project.

At a strategic planning meeting in 2015, Zins said it was decided that the bank would rebrand many individual branch bank names under the umbrella of “Family of Banks Montana” to a single name, TrailWest Bank.

“At the same meeting, we also made the commitment to provide true independent, community banking to the city of Missoula,” Zins said. “With the pending loss of two more independent community Missoula banks to a multi-billion dollar publicly traded bank via acquisition, the time was right for TrailWest Bank to move into Missoula with three branches to complement the existing branch located near the Airway Boulevard exit on I-90.”

TrailWest has 16 total locations, including many in Ravalli,

TrailWest Bank in Missoula Mineral and Flathead counties.

Zins said TrailWest separates itself from other banks by having the ability to move quickly with loan decisions and customizing loan packages to meet the needs

KURT WILSON, Missoulian

of customers.

“Larger banks get bogged down going through the loan approval process and are not typically allowed to think outside the box,” he said. “At TrailWest

Bank, we pride ourselves in being able customize business loan packages to fit the needs of our clients and their individual project. We are a small business bank. While big banks dominate almost 90 percent of the deposits in this country, much smaller community banks still make almost 50 percent of the small business loans. There is a reason for that very surprising statistic … it’s because we’re really, really good at it.”

TrailWest was capitalized with $1 million in 1982 in Lolo as Bitterroot Valley Bank. Today, it is the 9th largest bank in the state with $450 million in total assets, but Zins said they still operate like a much smaller community bank. For more information visit online at trailwest.bank.

DAVID ERICKSON david.erickson@missoulian.com

4 — Western Montana InBusiness, Winter 2016-17

INBUSINESS

KURT WILSON, Missoulian

A worker looks out of the plastic walls covering the construction of the expansion of Southgate Mall.

Several stores, areas see renovation at Southgate Mall DAVID ERICKSON david.erickson@missoulian.com

Several stores have undergone extensive remodels or expansions at Southgate Mall on Brooks Street in Missoula in the past year, according to marketing director Trisha Shepard: Nail Trix, a manicure and pedicure salon, underwent an

expansion and a relocation in January. For more information call 406-829-0885.

Lane Bryant, a women’s plus-sized apparel store that emphasizes fashion, opened later in the year. For more information call 406-721-8119.

Fuzziwig’s Candy Factory, where customers can find bin bulk candy and prepackaged

candies and chocolates, opened a store at the mall this year. For more information call 406-5421817.

Victoria’s Secret and Bath and Body Works, which are both owned by the same parent company, underwent major reconstructions. Victoria’s Secret also opened a new “PINK” store and Bath and Body Works expanded

and added another brand, White Barn Candle Company. Call 406-721-1811 for more information.

The mall also reconstructed and remodeled the community room. “It’s been several years since we had updated that,” Shepard said. “It needed a refresh.”

Groundbreaking and

construction began on a new nine-plex, dine-in movie theater that is slated to be complete this June. It will be operated by AMC Theaters.

To learn more about all the dozens of stores and restaurants at the mall or to find hours and locations, visit shopsouthgate.com or call 406721-5140.

INBUSINESS

Western Montana InBusiness, Winter 2016-17 — 5

Renovation at Missoula Federal Credit Union branch adds energy efficiency DAVID ERICKSON david.erickson@missoulian.com

The Missoula Federal Credit Union celebrated its 60th anniversary by holding a vote among members and giving away $60,000 to three local nonprofit organizations: The Missoula Food Bank, Big Brothers Sisters of Missoula and the Flagship Program. The credit union also undertook a major renovation of its Reserve Street branch, which is located 2610 N. Reserve.

Most of the renovation involved installing massive solar panels on the roof and other energy efficiency measures, which reduced the building’s energy consumption by 25 percent.

“The investment was partly economic, but it also reflects our commitment to driving our carbon footprint downward,” said MFCU President and CEO Jack Lawson. “We’re greening up the facilities in our overall business operation. For us, it does pencil out financially. It’s a costeffective investment. And we’re also trying to give our members access to information and financing to do the same at their homes and businesses. We are always trying to finance renewable energy and efficiency.”

Lawson said the Reserve Street location is the busiest in terms of member traffic, but the company headquarters is actually at 3600 Brooks St. The

MFCU has a total membership of about 47,000, and in 2016 net membership growth was over 4 percent, which means they added a net of about 2,000 more members.

The credit union’s asset growth was about 7 percent this past year, which means the company will finish the year with close to $460 million in total assets.

“Our total earnings and total net worth are stronger than we have seen for almost a decade,” Lawson said.

Low interest rates led to strong home loans in 2016.

“Our mortgage originations increased 7 percent in 2016 over 2015 levels,” Lawson said.

Jacob Hixson

“The biggest challenge we are seeing in this area of our lending operations is not demand or borrower qualifications, it is applicant inability to find affordable homes to purchase.

This is a critical issue for our community.”

For Lawson, who has been with the company for three years, the financial growth was great but the philanthropy the credit union was

able to undertake was even more rewarding.

“It was very exciting,” he said.

“2016 was a really strong growth year as far as financial performance for us. But we also did a lot of fun member engagement oriented things, and we were able to give to three pretty cool not-for-profits. We are going to be doing a little bit more philanthropy and recognize the cooperative structure.”

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6 — Western Montana InBusiness, Winter 2016-17

INBUSINESS

Charter College program trains medical assistants DAVID ERICKSON david.erickson@ missoulian.com

TYLER WILSON, Missoulian

Fuel Fitness opened in 2016 in the Holiday Village Shopping Center on Brooks Street in Missoula.

‘Cardio for miles’ and more at Fuel Fitness are available.

“Our child care facility is just beyond anything in Missoula,” Pollock Brenda Pollock, a man- added. “It’s definitely in demand.” ager at the new Fuel FitCustomers can take ness gym at 1934 Brooks St. in the Holiday Village group fitness classes, included in the memberShopping Center, calls ship, on everything the number of fitness machines and stations at from spinning to yoga to high-intensity interval the 30,000 square foot training. The gym has facility “jaw dropping” the newest life-fitness for people who walk in. equipment, circuit “I call it cardio for weights, free weights and miles,” she says of the hammer-strength plate amount of treadmills load weights. and elliptical machines.

Pollock said a lot of That’s good news people in different schedfor people who have ules use the gym. experienced other gyms “It’s amazing how around town where all the many people do come in machines are full during at night,” she said. the busy hours.

Memberships cost $29 “We have the largest a month right now with a amount of equipment $5 sign-up fee. in the Northwest,” Pol“For what we have lock said. in here it’s an amazing Open and staffed 24 bargain,” she said. “We hours a day and seven have five locations in days a week, Fuel FitMontana and we are ness also has tanning, opening a sixth location a supplement store, a in Kalispell. This is by far juice bar, a steam room the biggest one and it’s in each locker room and locally-owned.” a childcare facility. The For more information facility employs around visit the Fuel Fitness 35 people, and indepenFacebook page. dent personal trainers DAVID ERICKSON david.erickson@ missoulian.com

The Holiday Village Shopping Center on Brooks Street underwent a big remodel this year, and one new company in town is trying to give students a chance at a good-paying career in a high-demand field.

Charter College opened for classes at 1930 Brooks St. this summer, offering a 10-month medical assistant certificate program.

The program is a mix of online coursework, classroom time and a five-week, 180-hour externship in a clinic or hospital setting.

“The program is what we call a blended modality,” said campus manager Catherine Getic. “Most of the bookwork, such as learning medical terminology, the students can do those from home. Our lab classes are all hands-on, and we have state-of-theart medical laboratories and classrooms where they use tools they may see in medical employment. And the last five weeks is what we call an externship. I am working to create affiliation agreements with hospitals, medical clinics and other health facilities that would hire our students. So we actually place students in that site and they work hands-on with the medical team there and receive college credit for that.”

Medical assistants support the work of nurses and physicians by doing a variety of administrative and clinical work, but their job function could vary wildly depending on where they work.

“Their work would very location to location depending on the facility,” Getic said. “They could work in a rehab facility,

KURT WILSON, Missoulian

Catherine Getic describes the new Charter College office and classroom space at the Holiday Village Shopping Center in May. an urgent care clinic or a hospital. Their application is extremely varied. They could take vitals or work on blood draws. In our

classroom they practice anything they could experience because we want them to be fully prepared.”

Students normally

attend classes one or two days a week for four hours at a time. Classes can be scheduled during the day from 9 a.m. until around 1 p.m. or from 6 to 10 p.m. in the evening.

Tuition is about $23,000 including supplies and fees, and there are financing options.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the annual mean wage of medical assistants in Montana is between $30,950 and $33,580. The industry is expected to grow by 23 percent between 2014 and 2024 and add roughly 138,900 jobs, a much faster job growth outlook than the average occupation.

For more information visit chartercollege.edu/ missoula-mt.

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Now Catering Fiveonblack.com

INBUSINESS

Western Montana InBusiness, Winter 2016-17 — 7

TYLER WILSON, Missoulian

Green Source Missoula opened in 2016 on Higgins Ave. on Missoula’s Hip Strip.

Green Source Missoula sells organic smoothies, more smoothies and increase the health and vitality in our community and connect Missoulians with the Andy and Jessica Maisel opened amazing abundance of organic food that is grown by smallGreen Source Missoula on the scale farmers.”

Hip Strip at 617 S. Higgins Ave. Everything they serve is comearlier this fall after Jessica had pletely organic, and they source as a successful run selling green smoothies at the Missoula Farm- much of their products as locally as possible. They offer bone broth ers Market for a couple years. and savory warm bowls with fresh “Green Source is Missoula’s 100 percent organic, cold-pressed veggies, hot rice and quinoa. They also serve smoked salmon and juice bar and café,” Andy Maisel summer sausage from Lifeline explained. “Our mission is to Farm in the Bitterroot. provide Missoula with premium DAVID ERICKSON david.erickson@missoulian.com

“We are proud to serve our community food grown without chemicals, or as your grandparents called it, food grown by farmers,” Maisel said. “It’s food that is grown using sunlight and soil, which promotes local and sustainable and healthy food chains.”

Along with green smoothies, the café sells fruit smoothies and granola bowls. They also have bottled smoothies for people in a hurry. Maisel said the cold-press process means that the enzymes and vitamins in the fruit and

vegetables are maintained at a higher quality.

“We put the same apples in a cold-press and a centrifugal juicer, and a different product comes out,” he said. “With a mechanical press the idea is it is not exposed to heat at all and no oxidation is initiated.”

Maisel said that many customers so far have health complications, and they’ve been impressed that they can find things like acai berries or turmeric or bone broth.

“We don’t make any health

claims, we just have the food available,” he said. “People are saying ‘wow, this is everything I’m supposed to eat in one place.’

That’s what really touches us and makes this effort worthwhile.”

Green Source also offers workplace delivery of smoothies.

They are open Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.

The café has seating for 40 people and employs 10 workers.

For more information, visit the Green Source Missoula Facebook page.

8 — Western Montana InBusiness, Winter 2016-17

INBUSINESS

Dog & Bicycle Bakery Cafe opens in Polleys Square A DAVID ERICKSON david.erickson@missoulian.com

The Dog & Bicycle Bakery Café, located at 875 Wyoming St. Suite 102, is in the ground floor of the new Polleys Square A condominium building in the Old Sawmill District.

Owners Malcom Lowe and Megan O’Dell created a space with an “industrial age meets Alice in Wonderland” vibe.

“The story is we’re the first business in this new neighborhood,” Lowe explained. “We’re kind of staking our claim in the Sawmill District as it grows and we hope to be the social and community focal point of that new neighborhood.”

Lowe, who owns the Loose Caboose coffee huts all over town, said the café is a complete espresso bar.

“We offer not only Loose Caboose coffee but pourover and other presentations of varietal coffee,” he said. “We are sort of an extension of Loose Caboose. But we have an in-house bakery as well.

This will become the home bakery for Loose Caboose.

We put out fresh stuff everyday: Quiche, soup, salads and paninis.”

Lowe said he’s been interested in the Sawmill District for years, and developers Ed and Leslie Wetherbee were longtime Loose Caboose customers before they approached him with the business opportunity.

“I was pretty interested,”

Dog & Bicycle Cafe opened in 2016 in the Polleys Square A condominium building at the Old Sawmill District. he said.

The café has seating for 35 inside and outdoor seating in the warmer months.

Lowe said he worked hard on the “whimsical” décor, including homemade light fixtures and tin ceiling panels. Lowe said there is high-speed wi-fi for those looking to study or get

mid-day place.” work done.

They also offer “We’re starting to get a really nice flow of regulars,” he said. “Coming from the drive-up world, where we start to taper off by 9 a.m., we realized that people (who) want to sit down and use wi-fi come in later than the 9 a.m. hour. We realized we’re more of a

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TYLER WILSON, Missoulian

& Bicycle Bakery Café on Facebook.

Western Montana InBusiness, Winter 2016-17 — 9

INBUSINESS

First buildings open in Old Sawmill District DAVID ERICKSON david.erickson@missoulian.com

Not long ago, the Old Sawmill District in central Missoula was off-limits to most people, a blighted former industrial sawmill site full of pollution and debris. Now, thanks to efforts by government agencies and local developers, the area is the site of bustling economic activity and a brand new public park.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held in July for the first Polleys Square condominium building, the initial piece of a planned $250 million in development at the site. The 23-unit building on Wyoming Street also marked the first time permanent residents had lived in the area in decades. A second, nearly-completed building next door, Polleys Square B, will have 11 new buyers living in the unit in January, and ground has been broken on the 20-unit Polleys Square C, which will be ready in 14 months.

Even more exciting things are on the horizon.

“Designs are underway for our boutique student resident project to start soon, a 200-unit active adult living-learning project and a neighborhood gastro pub,” said developer Ed Wetherbee. Gastro pubs are pubs that

“Designs are underway for our boutique student resident project to start soon, a 200-unit active adult living-learning project and a neighborhood gastro pub.”

— Ed Wetherbee, developer serve high-end food.

When all is said and done, there will be over 700 residential units, 150,000 square feet of retail space and a parking garage at the 46-acre site.

Right now, Cambium Place is also under construction to the west of the condo buildings.

“Cambium will be a mixed-use building with underground parking, about three-quarters residential with very nice executive-style, upper-end apartments that are kind of new to Missoula,” said Wetherbee. “But we’re taking the concept from other projects we’ve seen around the country and we’re excited about that.”

That building will have 30,000 square feet of retail and office space.

Work at the site so far has provided about 200 full-time equivalent temporary construction jobs.

Every minute. Every day. missoulian.com

MARK HEINTZELMAN, Missoulian

Ed and Leslie Wetherbee speak before the ribbon is cut on the first Polley’s Square condominium building Thursday.

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10 — Western Montana InBusiness, Winter 2016-17

INBUSINESS

Sears Hometown Store part of booming trend across country DAVID ERICKSON david.erickson@missoulian.com

Mark Rheinschmidt knew he wanted to find a way to keep Sears in Missoula, even though the large retailer shut down its store in Southgate Mall in summer 2015. Rheinschmidt was an employee there, and he knew there were thousands of loyal customers. So after a lot of planning, he was chosen to open a smaller Sears Hometown Store inside the Abbey Carpet and Floor building at 407 S. Catlin St. at the beginning of 2016.

“As soon as they announced they were going to close (the mall) store, of course, they were going to offer up a Sears Hometown Store to somebody here in Missoula, and I was lucky enough to be the chosen candidate for that,” Rheinschmidt said. “(But) the process of getting open was a little slower than we thought.”

The store offers a wide variety of appliances at its Missoula store, and if they can’t find the one they want in-store Rheinschmidt can get any Sears product online and shipped to their door in three to five business days. They also offer delivery and installation.

“We have all the major kitchen appliances,” Rheinschmidt said. “We have all the major brands. Kenmore is our leading brand, but we also have Whirlpool, Frigidaire, Samsung, LG and GE.” Rheinschmidt said that many of the larger, mall-based Sears locations around the country are closing, while the smaller Hometown Stores are booming.

There are now more than 1,100 in the country.

“The long-term goal is here in the next few years we’re hoping to have a full-line store here in Missoula and then we’ll have all the other products, so we’ll be just like Hamilton, Polson, Helena, Butte, Kalispell and Great Falls,” he said.

The store is open from 9 a.m. until 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Sundays.

TOM BAUER PHOTOS, Missoulian

ABOVE: Mark Rheinschmidt, left, and Claude Van Tassel stand in the new Sears Hometown Store that opened Dec. 17, 2015, in the Abbey Carpet and Floor building. The store, owned

by Rheinschmidt, has a showroom full of appliances.

LEFT: Claude Van Tassel helps Delores and Elmer Renz find a part for their vacuum cleaner at the Sears Hometown Store. The store can get any item on the Sears website, usually within three to five business days.

INBUSINESS

Montana Ace Power Pros is located at 1023 Kensington Avenue in Missoula.

Western Montana InBusiness, Winter 2016-17 — 11

CARL KEYES, Montana Ace Digital Marketing Department

Montana Ace Power Pros is a relocated service center DAVID ERICKSON david.erickson@missoulian.com

A new Montana Ace Power Pros showroom opened at a newly remodeled facility at 1023 Kensington Ave. near the post office earlier this summer. It’s a place where customers can buy and get mechanical service for a wide range of outdoor power equipment. Montana Ace Hardware moved the service center from its former location inside the Montana Ace store in the Eastgate Shopping Center.

“The high volume of outdoor power equipment sales and the fact that we service what we sell, combined with our commitment to outstanding customer service, dictated the expansion,” Nicky Conners, Montana Ace’s digital marketing director, told the Missoulian.

406-532-3499. Business hours are 7 a.m.

The store provides factory-authorized rebuilds, and financing options to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and are available. sales and service for the following 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

They can be reached by calling brands: Stihl, Toro-including Toro Commercial Power Equipment, Craftsman, Kohler Generators, Fimco Sprayers and Accessories, as well as many other popular brands and related accessories.

Conners added The Montana Ace Power Pros technicians are extensively trained and are highly qualified to work on all brands that they sell.

“Our staff are master-certified technicians for: MTD, Stihl, Kohler, Briggs & Stratton,” Conners said. “They spend hours in continuing education Commercial & Residential Outdoor Power Equipment classes every year expanding their broad Sales, Service & Repair knowledge base, which is a huge benefit.

Montana Ace Power Pros 1023 Kensington Ave Missoula, MT 59801 Our technicians also use computer-aided diagnostics to assess machines.”

They can do everything from small engine repairs to complete engine

12 — Western Montana InBusiness, Winter 2016-17

INBUSINESS

Taco Treat under new ownership The casino and the DAVID ERICKSON david.erickson@missoulian.com Taco Treat taco truck Taco Treat in Missoula reopened under new ownership this past October at 1787 Bow St. in Missoula, next to the Emerald City Casino just off Brooks Street.

“We are under new management,” said manager Judy Shannon. “The new owner lives in Great Falls, and he’s trying to make this location the franchise model. He has a couple in Great Falls, one in Helena and another one in Billings. But all the food out of all the Taco Treats are the same, we’re trying to keep it consistent.”

that shows up on Grizzly football game days is owned by the same owner as well.

The fast-casual restaurant offers tostadas, burritos, enchiladas, nachos, corn and flour tacos and salads. They also have specialty items like Indian tacos, taco burgers, taco dogs, cheese fries, sopapillas and crustos.

“My favorite is the No. 3 which is a corn taco with an enchilada and rice and cheese,” she said.

Shannon said that they worked hard to reconfigure the interior over the summer.

“It’s all pretty new,” she

TYLER WILSON, Missoulian

Missoula’s Brooks Street Taco Treat underwent extensive remodel in 2016 and is under new ownership. said. “It’s just a beautiful remodel.”

The restaurant has seating for over 60 people, and is open from 10:30 a.m. until 10 p.m.

Monday through Friday.

On Sundays, the store closes at 9 p.m.

“We are under new management. The new owner lives in Great Falls, and he’s trying to make this location the franchise model. He has a couple in Great Falls, one in Helena and another one in Billings. But all the food out of all the Taco Treats are the same, we’re trying to keep it consistent.”

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INBUSINESS

Western Montana InBusiness, Winter 2016-17 — 13

TOM BAUER PHOTOS, Missoulian

ABOVE: Dozens of people began gambling at the new Gray Wolf Peak Casino only minutes after a ribbon cutting ceremony opened the doors.

LEFT: The new casino replaces an older, smaller facility next door. Plans call for a hotel to be constructed above the new building.

CSKT opens new Gray Wolf Peak Casino in Evaro more than the 35 who worked at the old place, which will be torn down. gaming machines, almost The tribes are hoping three times as many as A crowd of hundreds to draw in customers and showed up when the Con- the old casino. Gaming in revenue from Missoula and federated Salish and Koo- state-controlled casinos travelers on Interstate 90. in Montana is limited to tenai Tribes opened the “This is a purposely shiny new $21 million Gray $2 bets and $800 payouts, Wolf Peak Casino in Evaro but the tribes can let peo- built facility that was ple gamble as much as $10 intended to be a casino, earlier this fall. People restaurant and lounge, already were sitting down and win over $500,000. and gambling within min- One person at the CSKT’s with the possibility of a hotel,” S&K Gaming utes of the ribbon-cutting KwaTaqNuk Resort and CEO Brian Miller told the ceremony, a signal of how Casino in Polson won Missoulian this fall. “It’s much demand there is for almost a million dollars roomier (than KwaTaqlast year. a nice gaming facility in Vernon Finley, the CSKT Nuk) and has state-ofwestern Montana. chairman, said that a new the-art equipment.”

The new For more information hotel will be built on top 34,000-square-foot visit graywolfpeakcasino. of the new casino within facility is replacing the com or call 406-726-3778. the next three years. The smaller and 10-year-old It’s open 24 hours a day, casino employs between casino of the same name seven days a week.

100 and 120 people, way nearby, also just off U.S.

Highway 93.

DAVID ERICKSON The new casino has 307 david.erickson@missoulian.com

14 — Western Montana InBusiness, Winter 2016-17

INBUSINESS

Big Sky Code Academy aims to get people jobs in tech sector DAVID ERICKSON david.erickson@missoulian.com

The Big Sky Code Academy launched in Missoula in April of this year as a boot-camp aimed at getting people jobs in the growing technology sector.

Devin Holmes and Doug Walter founded the initiative, along with Montana Code Girls – a free afterschool coding program for girls aged 9-19 – along with Montana Teachers Teaching Tech, which is a partnership with Code. org to train educators in computer science so they can bring the curriculum to the classroom.

“The Big Sky Code Academy is a three to four-month intensive web development boot camp,” Holmes said.

“It’s training and workforce development focused.”

Classes for students in Missoula and Bozeman start in January, and students

in Helena, Whitefish and Billings start later in the spring.

“We teach coding as a career,” Holmes said. “It’s not just about teaching adults how to code. It’s focused on getting them into the workforce.”

To learn coding means to learn software development and computer programming.

“It’s really about learning a computer programming language that will allow you to develop software,” Holmes said.

“You can use it to develop websites or mobile apps for iPhone or Android. It’s teaching people a language so they can go on and be software developers and develop these applications that we all use, like missoulian.com or Google Maps on your phone.”

Holmes said business and community leaders became concerned in 2015 that there weren’t enough people with the skills to fill the open software

“The High Tech Business Alliance said there were 600 high-tech jobs open in the state, but the combined total computer science graduates from the Montana University System in 2014 was barely over 100. It was a big gap.”

separate coding school based in Missoula.

The Montana Code School was formed a little over a year ago at the Montana Technology Enterprise Center in Missoula. For a tuition of around $8,000, graduates of the program usually saw their salaries jump by about $30,000 within the first three to six months, according to executive director Amita Greer.

“It’s a full-time bootcamp, 9-5 Monday through Friday for 12 weeks,” Greer said.

— Devin Holmes, academy “It’s geared for people who have no co-founder programming experience. We teach them how to be a full-stack junior web developer by the end of it. They get a pretty good return on their investment.” development jobs in Montana.

Devin Holmes and Doug Walter were “The High Tech Business Alliance said there were 600 high-tech jobs open in the involved with the Montana Code School from the beginning, but decided to spin state, but the combined total computer off and form the Big Sky Code Academy science graduates from the Montana University System in 2014 was barely over this past year.

For more information visit bigskycode 100,” he said. “It was a big gap.” academy.org or montanacodeschool.com.

There is actually another, entirely

Tia’s Big Sky a farm-to-table restaurant DAVID ERICKSON david.erickson@missoulian.com

When Kim West and Kari Brittain decided to revive the old Big Sky Drive-In location, they set the ball rolling on a project that would not only transform an abandoned former restaurant building that had become an eyesore, but would revitalize a neighborhood and give the community a new gathering spot.

Now, Tia’s Big Sky Restaurant at 1016 West Broadway in Missoula is an artisanal farm-to-table restaurant that serves the tamales made famous

by Tia’s Tamales food truck, along with a whole host of other Mexican foods. They serve up organic rotisserie chicken, homemade tortillas, pozole (a traditional Mexican stew made with hominy), chicken mole tacos and other treats. West said it was important for the restaurant to serve up locallysourced, made-from-scratch food.

“There’s a reason why people do TOMMY MARTINO PHOTOS, Missoulian ‘out of the can’ or ‘out of the package’,” Kim West and Kari Brittain, the owners of the brand-new Tia’s Big Sky restaurant at she explained. “It’s a formula. You 1016 West Broadway in Missoula, opened their doors for business in 2016. can count on the cost. We are having to figure it all out. But I really believe that you can taste the difference in our food. Chicken that comes pre-cooked loses its moisture and flavor right

The restaurant features farm-to-table ingredients in their classic from the tortillas to the homemade pozole to the rotisserie organic chicken to the tacos. away. Our chicken is organic and just has so much more flavor. There’s no preservatives.”

Brittain grows many of the vegetables used at Tia’s in her garden, and she hopes to have a greenhouse so that she can serve greens year-round.

The duo also have space to start a food truck pod behind the restaurant. West does most of the recipes, as she spent years living in Costa Rica and Mexico.

The store is open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. until 8:30 p.m. For more information call 406-317-1817 or visit tiasbigsky.com.

INBUSINESS

Western Montana InBusiness, Winter 2016-17 — 15

As Spiker Communications grows, so does its company headquarters DAVID ERICKSON david.erickson@missoulian.com

When Wes Spiker started an advertising and marketing agency in Missoula in 1983, he probably didn’t realize the level of sustained success the company would have. Earlier this year, the company moved into a brand-new location at 3200 Brooks Street and went on a hiring spree, a turning point that will define the business legacy of Spiker Communications.

“This is an environment where our team members will do the best work of their lives,” Spiker said. “And we see this building as a contributor to our success.

We’ve always had great office spaces in our 33 years and this is just the latest example.”

The company represents a diverse set of clients, from professional golfers to log home manufacturers. Spiker has even worked with the President-elect of the United States.

“We have clients all over the country,” he said. “Our biggest client happens to be First Security Bank right here in Missoula. We have the largest apple grower and cherry grower in the country over in Chelan, Washington. We have a lot of farms. We have one of the largest potato growers. We’ve done work for Arnold Palmer, we’ve done work for Donald Trump. I’ve actually met with Trump many of times. We kind of do everything all across the country.”

Spiker’s clients stay with them for a long time.

“Our average length of client service is about 24 years,” Spiker explained. “We’ve been in business for 33 years, but operate like a start-up. These are the types of creative partners I want to work with.

That gives us the ability to do unprecedented creative work.”

The key to long-term success, he said,

TOM BAUER, Missoulian

Chris and Wes Spiker stand in their new location for Spiker Communications, the advertising and marketing agency they started 33 years ago. The company represents clients nationwide, and the Spikers are looking forward to working in the new environment. is that everyone gets to voice their opinions at the company.

“We want to focus on big, businesschanging ideas, and combining the new

works, what doesn’t, and what we need to staff with our existing senior-level talent achieve to stay at the top of the game.” helps us do that,” said employee Maritsa For more information visit spikerGeorgiou said. “Already, we’ve had so many comm.com or call 406-721-0785. national opportunities to discuss what

“Our average length of client service is about 24 years. We’ve been in business for 33 years, but operate like a start-up.

These are the types of creative partners I want to work with. That gives us the ability to do unprecedented creative work.”

— Wes Spiker

A16 — Missoulian, Sunday, January 1, 2017