Is Great Falls a good place to open a restaurant?

You may not be interested in running a restaurant, but found yourself saying "I wish we had a (fill in the blank) restaurant". Both individually owned local restaurants and chain restaurants have to feel confident about profitability within a local market. In 2012 Great Falls ranked #246 nationally, 12.44 points above average.

Source: http://www.monkeydish.com/towns-with-potential/home; captured 1/25/2013

In other words, if you wondered why national chain X isn't here yet, they have 245 other cities to go first. Amongst them are Missoula, Bozeman, Billings (which just saw a series of restaurants open), and Kalispell. Of course those chains have additional criteria such as special markets, available sites, traffic counts, and available liquor licenses.

The good news for local restaurants is that we still have 12.44 points of "untapped" potential. If our economy grows, we will see our ranking improve. If more restaurants come onto the market, it may drop, unless we start tapping into the Glacier-Yellowstone tourist flow, and increase local demand dramatically.

How do they come up with those ratings? The Journal "Restaurant Business" explains it in their April 2012 edition. In a few words, our local average income, existing number of restaurants, and population are compared to US averages. One-hundred is average, and the higher above 100 the more promising the market is to new restaurants.

Curious about the best towns to open up shop? Corbin, KY (the origin of KFC), and Key West, FL are top contenders! Go to http://www.monkeydish.com/ for more information.

"Restaurant Business" Journal, April 2012, p.22

Provided by Spark Architecture

Downtown Great Falls Master Plan

Following up on some of your comments on Facebook , I'd like to share some thoughts on Master plans, and reference specific information about our current Downtown Master Plan, adopted October 2011.

The current Great Falls Masterplan can be downloaded at: http://www.greatfallsmt.net/sites/default/files/archives/records/minutes/yr2011/DTMP.pdf

Master plans are a great way to build general guidelines, and incorporate comments from (extensive) public meetings into one handy document. The goals for our current Master plan could be paraphrased as a connected, flourishing Downtown, that serves as a local destination, offers more residential options, and improved aesthetics. Each of those goals has a set of objectives and implementation outlines, and yes, "Complete Streets" is mentioned more than once. It also lists a number of strategies to bring more life Downtown on evenings and weekends.

When new projects are proposed to the City, folks on the Planning Board, Commission, and City staff review them for general compliance with the plan. While additional public comment is usually required and encouraged, it allows the City to approve compliant projects with relative ease.

That being said, given limited public funds, any master plan heavily depends on residents, developers, and other organizations to bring it to life. Recognizing this, the current plan suggested the formation of a Downtown Developing Board including a variety of community stakeholders and groups. Late 2012 the "Downtown Partnership" was formed,  hopefully channeling the energy and initiatives into more actual progress.

If you are interested in long term planning for Great Falls (beyond downtown), make sure to follow the growth policy update and events. Throughout 2012 the City has received ample citizen participation in formulating the new growth policy, which will guide Great Falls' long term direction and planning decisions.




Provided by Spark Architecture

Great Falls - Historic Walking Tours

We pass these buildings many times, wondering what stories they hold. Next time you're downtown, on River Edge Trail, or the Railroad district, check out one of the historic walking trail brochures:

"The Central Business Historic District Walking Tour Brochure presents a sampling of the history and architecture of downtown Great Falls and celebrates a collaboration of business, tourism, history and the arts.  Ninety-nine buildings contribute to the history of the district, which was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2004."

"The River’s Edge History Tour provides a look at the pre-history and historical resources along the Missouri River corridor.  The approximately five mile section of the river will take about two hours if you are walking the River’s Edge Trail for the entire distance.  There are numerous access points along trail, and the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center, the Fish Wildlife & Parks Visitor Center and Giant Springs State Park also offer parking and other public facilities.  The history tour is great companion piece for the River’s Edge Trail Map."


 "In 1993, the Great Falls Railroad Historic District was listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the official list of the nation’s resources considered worthy of preservation.  This brochure provides a stroll through the district that once served the bustling railroad freight and passenger business in Great Falls and Gibson Park, the city’s premier park."


 Excerpts from The City of Great Falls Historic Preservation Office website.



Spark Architecture

Grants (a.k.a. money) for your ideas

Always wanted to build a playground, school garden, add to your neighborhood park, or library? The MSU extension office painstakingly lists  available grant programs. If you don't have a project in mind yet, check out available grants for ideas.

Intimidated by "grant writing"? There is no magic to it, and you don't need a special degree, just a good dose of enthusiasm. A lot of grants are easy online forms. For others, shoot us a comment with your ideas, and we'll connect you with community resources to help.

At the time of this writing the list contained close to 200 available grants. Below are just a few fun grants with upcoming due dates:


Jamba Juice (due 2/18): http://grants.kidsgardening.org/its-all-about-fruit-and-veggies

Grow Your Park (due 2/6): http://www.nrpa.org/garden/

Do something (Seeds and other grants, weekly): http://www.dosomething.org/grants/seed-grants


Enjoy, and start doing something :)



Spark Architecture

Merry Christmas (to you and the buildings in our Central Historic District)

Sneak Preview of our Christmas cards:

 Merry Christmas!

Invest locally, and bring even more life into Downtown Great Falls.

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Finding Synergies in Historic Downtown Development

Earlier this week I visited Randy Hafer with High Plains Architects  in Billings to discuss opportunities to encourage additional Historic Development Downtown. Randy could be called the Guru of Montana historic tax credit projects. Having completed over six certified Historic Tax Credit Rehabilitation projects in Billings alone, he has also been instrumental in  recent Great Falls feasibility studies. Randy is the architect for recent local projects including the Arvon Block development and the Rocky Mountain Building.

Randy stressed the point of "synergy". A successful redevelopment project needs partners to compliment each others assets. Depending on the project, that could include a motivated owner, one or more investors, knowledgeable development, accounting, design, and legal support, as well as a supportive community. Depending on the intended use, one or more businesses can be important drivers of the development's success. Randy stressed how residential space has been the most successful use in projects so far, but mentioned that one of his partners has been driving development by implementing dining opportunities in first floor spaces.

The map below shows a recent inventory of historic potential in our own downtown. Spark Architecture is currently organizing a "historic development opportunities" Open House on Feb. 1st 2013. The goal for that night is opening the doors to synergies between businesses, building owners, and potential investors, as well as providing basic information on the "How-to". 

Great Falls, Montana Restaurant Makeover?

Instead of trying to import more great dining options, how about focusing on helping our local restaurants to become that great option?

The idea is not new, and TV shows like "Restaurant Impossible" by Food Network, and Fox "Kitchen Nightmares" suggest a trend. The Great Falls tribune already prominently features successful local "Ugly Bathroom Makeovers".

Google Plus rates restaurants with equal points for service, quality, and atmosphere. As laid out in previous posts, social Media and cellphone based cameras enable dining customers to share their experience with the world.  Similar to the TV series and local bathroom makeovers, a team of local businesses and organization could form a strike force, including marketing, design, building, and management assistance. Carefully documented into case studies, these projects could provide similar businesses (and their banks) with information and inspiration to decide on their own next moves.

Which local restaurant business do you nominate for a "makeover"?

Spark Architecture