Bigfork businesses expand, renovate despite economy

Despite the persistence of cloudy skies and cool temperatures, Bigfork is abuzz with the signs of another summer season.

As local businesses restock their shelves and dust off their countertops, a handful of merchants will debut big improvements to area residents and visitors.

For some businesses, off-season projects included renovating and updating existing structures and equipment. Others spent the winter months transitioning to new locations and essentially starting from scratch.

What they all have in common, however, is the surprising willingness to tackle such drastic — and costly — changes in spite of a weak economy.

Though he heard rumors of other businesses being down 20 to 30 percent in revenue last summer, Grille 459 co-owner Joel Hagen said he couldn’t have been more pleased with his restaurant’s first summer of business.

“I didn’t have anything to compare it to, so I came into it with a fresh perspective,” Hagen said. “I didn’t have any preconceived notions.”

The restaurant opened in April of last year in the second-floor space in Twin Birch Square that formerly housed the restaurant Invite American Kitchen and Bar. It wasn’t an ideal setup for Grille 459, but Hagen and his staff made it work.

“We had a great season over there, but it was a non-functioning space. It just wasn’t intended to be a restaurant,” Hagen said.

Grille 459 opened with $900 in the bank, and much to Hagen’s amazement, the numbers never fell into the red.

After a successful summer season, one of the restaurant’s waitresses — who also works as a realtor — approached Hagen about a space that was available just a few doors down the street. It offered more room and more options for interior layout — an easy sell to someone who spent his evenings mixing cocktails while hunched over a tiny table.

With a lot of help from Peter Hoveland and Mountain High Construction, the space went from being an empty room filled with concrete and plywood, to a fully-furnished bar and restaurant with two separate dining areas.

“Construction started on March 7, and we opened on May 1,” Hagen said. “It was absolutely amazing that they were able to get everything done in that amount of time.”

Although he was aware of the risk he was taking by making a sizeable financial investment during a time marked by a less-than-promising economic outlook, Hagen said he didn’t want to lose a great opportunity by worrying too much about the “ifs.”

“The economy is always in the back of your mind somewhere,” he said. “I was definitely a little worried about it at the time, but if you’re afraid to take those big steps, you’re never going to be better, you know?”

Burger Town owner Andy S. knows exactly what Hagen is talking about.

When the restaurant closed for the winter last year, the owner planned to replace the front service windows to help with customer flow. He ended up gutting the entire kitchen.

He said the improvements were “something that needed to be done,” as the restaurant’s main kitchen building is about 50 years old.

“It just made sense to do it after that long, once we saw what was actually in there,” he said.

The famous burger stand opened its doors for the season nearly two weeks ago with all new kitchen appliances, revamped electrical wiring and plumbing, new walls and insulation, new floor structures and a fresh coat of paint.

“The theme of the project was, ‘While you’re here, you might as well…,’” he said. “Hopefully it translates to better customer service so people will keep coming back.”

Improved customer service is what prompted Her Alibi owner Laurie Pacheco to move her salon from an 820-square-foot location in Twin Birch Square to a much larger, 2300-square-foot building at the north entrance into the village on Grand Drive.

Pacheco opened the salon at its original location in May 2009 after moving to the Flathead Valley from Helena, where she owns another salon by the same name.

“I thought Bigfork needed something that offered more spa services,” Pacheco said. “It started out as something little, to cater mostly to tourists.”

But shortly after opening its doors, the business “just exploded,” Pacheco said.

Within a few months, the salon built up a huge base of local clients who, Pacheco said, were thrilled by the convenience of not having to travel to Kalispell to find services such as massage, facials and waxing.

“I was surprised to see that there was a need here for locals as much as tourists,” she said.

At the downtown store, however, space was a constant problem.

“It was a scheduling nightmare,” Pacheco said. “Last summer we ended up having to turn away a lot of pedicures and massages.”

Business has been thriving since the salon opened at its new location in March. The two-floor building allows more space for equipment — the salon added two pedicure thrones, two manicuring tables and a tanning bed — and staff.

A lot of work went into the construction and renovation of the building, which previously housed a real estate office. That included knocking down walls, gutting and re-laying all of the floors, rewiring the electrical components and painting “every square inch of this place,” Pacheco said. Once the weather is nice enough, the outside of the building will also receive a fresh coat of paint.

Despite all of the work, Pacheco is glad she decided to make the move.

“It’s been awesome. Our numbers have doubled since we’ve been here,” Pacheco said.

Pacheco said her business has stayed relatively immune to the financial hardships many businesses have suffered in the wake of a weak economy.

“We provide people with an escape from the daily pressures of life, even if it’s just for an hour,” Pacheco said.

“Back in the depression days, the beauty business thrived. Women will always find money to make themselves happy about the way they look and feel.”

She credits the Bigfork community for its continued support.

“We just love, love, love Bigfork. We’ve been so graciously accepted,” she said.