Ann Vinciguerra: Bozeman Restaurant & Retail Comings & Goings

If you’re a local and haven’t made it out in a while, an MSU alumni wondering what happened to your beloved college town, or if you’re reading from afar dreaming of your next trip to (or possibly even moving to) Bozeman, here is the latest.

Bozeman Update
Fall 2023

While growth is nothing new to Bozeman, this recent round of development seems to be more widespread and long lasting than previous booms. No part of town is free from development with large machinery and earth moving equipment building roads, apartment buildings, homes, and commercial spaces in every quadrant of the city.

Town must have hit some sort of magical threshold in terms of population and demographics as a proliferation of chains now call Bozeman home and several businesses from Jackson Hole are expanding their empires to include a place in Bozeman. While this is the sign of a vibrant economy and Bozeman’s status as desirable place to live, we lament the Bozeman of yore where local businesses dominated, prices were reasonable, and downtown was a vibrant, friendly place to hangout.

It is sad to see local businesses shutting their doors while chain stores are becoming commonplace giving Bozeman more of an Anywhere U.S.A feel. Additionally, it is heartbreaking to see so many vacant fields being developed while some buildings remain vacant or are falling into disrepair. I wish there were a way for these empty/derelict building to be revitalized before more open space is torn up. Is possible to make development happen this way?

Below is a list of business happenings around Bozeman. With stores offering $175 flannel shirts and $4,000+ cowboy boots, Bozeman is drawing more luxury shops and national and global brands. Take a look. What do these new establishments say about what Bozeman is becoming? Are these changes good or bad? What will we think 20 years from now when we look back on this point in Bozeman history?

Downtown

• Last Chance Mexican, a pricey but excellent Mexican restaurant with competent staff and an attentive owner, is closed. The short-lived Barley and Vine, the very popular and much missed Over the Tapas, and Sweet Pea Bakery all once occupied this now vacant space.
• Meridian Men opened in the former home of Silver Annie’s. The original Meridian Boutique is a popular women’s clothing store that has been in Bozeman for 20 years and Meridian Men is the first foray into men’s wear.
While it’s good to see a local business expanding, it’s strange to see Bozeman now has two men’s clothing stores on Main Street (The other is Revolvr, 30 West Main Street.) up from zero when I moved here in 2005.
• Fjällräven moved into 1 East Main Street, the space formerly home to Girls Outdoors, a retailer selling outdoor inspired clothing and accessories for women. This local store had been around since 2006, had a good selection, reasonable prices, and an involved owner who retired and was unable to sell the business.
Similar to Girls Outdoors, Fjällräven, a Swedish company, offers the same style of clothing but includes items for men. Before their arrival, I was only familiar with their whimsical backpacks, which I noticed primarily in Europe. I wasn’t aware that they also had a full line of clothing from burly outdoor jackets and trousers as well as tents, sleeping bags, and accessories. The Bozeman store focuses on casual apparel.

There’s nothing you can get at Fjällräven that you can’t get elsewhere in town. Prices for this sort of lifestyle wear can be expensive and their prices are a bit higher than expected. A flannel shirt will set you back $90 to $170.
• Lucchese Boot Company will open a shop on Main Street in the space that once housed Little Angels Boutique. The company was founded in 1883 in San Antonio, Texas and was sold to Blue Bell Overall Company, Wrangler’s parent company, in 1970.
According to their website, cowboy boots start at $445, and prices go as high as $4,495. They have a dozen or so stores in Texas and Oklahoma, and a few in random places like Telluride and soon Bozeman. The signage that covers their windows shows impeccably coiffed yet rugged looking men and women atop horses in weather-beaten settings. I suspect that rhinestone cowboys, not ranchers, will be shopping at Lucchese.
• The clothing store Inland replaced the longstanding Carter’s Boots and Repair (They’re now located at 1662 Bobcat Drive off Huffine). Inland is the purveyor of a large selection of hokey Western apparel and home to Meshika hats ($500-$1,300+), a company whose clients include Lady Gaga, Madonna, and Johnny Depp. If you're in the market for a Big Dumb Hat, this is the place for you.
• The large storefront formerly occupied by El Camino and the Kitty Warren Social Club is still vacant solidifying the space’s reputation as one of Bozeman’s cursed locations. (Who remembers Fin?) The Okay Cool Restaurant Group ran these establishments before the building was put up for sale in January.
• The Osborne Building, 223 East Main Street, was the last of the buildings to be rebuilt after the 2009 explosion. One of the owners of the Okay Cool Group was behind the project, with the new building opening in 2021. Main Street Market, a series of local shops centered around a coffee/sandwich shop was on the first level but didn’t even make it two years.
The space has been cut in half with Stio, a Jackson Hole company selling technical outdoor gear and lifestyle clothing, now open in one half of the building. Casual flannel shirts for women fall in the $115 to $175 price range.
Belle Cose, a “luxury lifestyle boutique” encouraging shoppers to “live life beautifully,” sells home goods, clothing, and jewelry. They will be moving into the other half of the Osborne this fall. I remember their original store from my Jackson Hole days, and since moving from there in 2005, Belle Cose has opened stores in Florida, California, Big Sky, and soon Bozeman.
• Mountain Trails Gallery, another place I remember from Jackson Hole (Are we sensing a theme here?) now occupies the space at 303 East Main Street. Two largely forgettable pizza places occupied the space prior to Mountain Trails.
Mountain Trails features Western art depicting forlorn frontier landscapes, vast opens spaces, and unspoiled territory. Paintings in chunky gold frames and sturdy bronze sculptures predominate. It's the kind of artwork you'd expected to see in a log McMansion or a business trying to promote a rustic Western image.
• At the far eastern end of east Main Street the mysterious mirror fronted Vac Shack sits empty as does the building that once housed East Main Traders. You’ll occasionally find a few squatters behind the Vac Shack but no encampments as of yet.

Mid-Town

The city has been encouraging re-development of the Mid-Town area for years but change is slow to come. The area is still largely squat one-story buildings, and the overall appearance and vibe haven’t changed much.

The Elm opened in 2021, a few of the old motor lodges have gotten facelifts, and food trucks have proliferated.

Aspen Street, once home to Mixers, the old Feista Mexicana location (They’re now on 712 Wheat Drive by I-90), and a trailer park, is now a vibrant micro-district. The ground floor of the new Aspen Crossing building features the whiskey bar Bourbon and the Ponderosa Social Club, a surprisingly stylish restaurant with bowling, billiards, and other bar games. I found bit of a disconnect between the décor and the idea of a casual place for games but otherwise it was a comfortable spots for drinks and food. Condos are on the upper floors of the building.

A second new building on Aspen Street features Freefall Brewery and Audrey's Pizza. Twinkle lights crisscross the street giving the area a lively feel, and Aspen Street is now classified as Bozeman's first “festival street,” which gives it the ability to close to traffic for events.
• The lot once home to the City Center Inn and the Black Angus restaurant has been sitting empty since 2017 and around the corner from it on 7th and Mendenhall the building that once housed Café Internationale has been sitting vacant for about a decade and is looking tattered.
• Midtown Tavern, famous in 2020 for refusing to entry to Donald Trump, Jr., has been vacant for about two years.
• The space where K-Mart once stood is still empty and the large building that housed Aaron’s Appliances is for sale.

Other parts of town

• Café Zydeco building is for sale, but the restaurant is still open.
• Nordic Brew Works has been bought by the Blue Collar Restaurant Group with plans to open a Bozeman branch of Merry Piglets, their Tex-Mex restaurant. This will be the fifth restaurant in Bozeman for the Jackson Hole company. The brewing equipment has been removed, and I imagine the wood fired pizza oven is gone as well. While Nordic had its problems with service and consistency, they built a bright, modern restaurant with a streamlined, eye-catching mix of metal, wood, and brick. I don't imagine this look would feel right for a place like Merry Piglets so I suspect the décor is gone as well.