The Miracle on Third Street
A handful of affordable businesses breathe new life into a weird corner of Missoula.
Welcome to Big Sky Chat House—a newsletter of candid conversations with Montanans of all stripes…plus some arts & culture reporting, too.
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Before we get into today’s newsletter, I wanted to give you all a little context about Big Sky Chat House, and what it means to me.
This project arose from a specific set of circumstances. I wanted to report on the 2023 Montana State Legislature, but I couldn’t easily or reliably get myself to Helena: my vision is limited and I can’t legally drive a car.
Phone calls, thus, needed to suffice. When I started calling lawmakers and activists, I was shocked by how generous they were with their time; our conversations regularly stretched to ninety minutes or more. I rarely ended an interview without feeling surprised by something they said. That invaluable reminder—that people are always more complicated than we expect, or perhaps want, them to be—pushed me to keep at it. And that feeling hasn’t gone away.
Most BSCH interviews still take place over the phone. Every once in awhile, I’ll have the good fortune to meet up for a tete-a-tete in Missoula; I also try to line up interviews in Bozeman or Miles City if I’m visiting family there.
There will be plenty of politics coming in the next installments of the newsletter. But today, I wanted to write about something very, very close to home: the near-overnight arrival of a handful of terrific new businesses in my Missoula neighborhood, and what they mean for a low-vision person like myself. Bon appetit!
The Town & Country Lounge is the platonic ideal of a dive bar, and arguably the best bar in Missoula. It has always felt like an island, an outpost, a self-contained microcosm of hedonism a couple miles removed from the hubbub of downtown. The converted double-wide trailer sits alone at the corner of Third and Catlin Streets, at the edge of a vast parking lot that it shares with the Good Food Store; its immediate neighbors include Great Floors, Auto Zone, and O’Reilly Auto Parts. It is not, in other words, in the thick of the Missoula nightlife scene.
Recently, however, the corner has become a mini-hive of new activity, thanks to several new food trucks. Gary’s Local—in its second location, following the original on Front and Clay Streets—slings six dollar burgers in the glow of the T&C’s buttery yellow sign. You can often smell them from several blocks away, a tantalizing gust of sizzling meat on the breeze.
On a recent gloomy Sunday, despite a chilly drizzle, customers began lining up to place orders just minutes after the truck opened its window at 5 PM. Lines of string lights dangle overhead, adding to the good vibes, and a couple of picnic tables offer an option to sit, if you’re willing to put up with the fumes and the noise of Third Street. My burger arrived steaming in the evening air. It’s as simple as it is delicious—a juicy, tender patty made from local beef, a single slice of American cheese, and a generous topping of griddled onions.
Cozied up behind Gary’s is Little Pink—the truck offers a double smash burger and a Nashville hot chicken sandwich for about $15 each, among a handful of other sandwiches. Little Pink’s hours can be hard to keep track of, however—keep an eye on their Facebook page. (Other food trucks, including the Mexican Moose and La Boca, have parked at the T&C in the past.)
More good news came a couple of weeks ago when the bakery Grist opened its doors a little ways down on Third Street. Walking the few blocks down to the bakery that sunny opening day was euphoric—I kept running into people I knew, and everyone wanted to chat and catch up. This would have otherwise been a rare occurrence in the neighborhood, save for a run-in at the grocery store or the bar. (Or, on occasion, an encounter at the former that leads to the latter.) On my way to Grist, I felt like I was living in a true neighborhood, not just a place where people happen to live near each other.
Everything I’ve tried from the bakery has been top-notch, and refreshingly affordable. A terrific cup of drip coffee costs two bucks. Ditto for an oatmeal and brown butter cookie—it’s gloriously soft and chewy. Grist makes one of, if not the best, croissants in town. They also sell pizza dough and a ton of funky breads. Alas, they don’t offer much seating, but that’s okay—I’d be there every day if they did.
As a low-vision person, this shift in the neighborhood holds particular significance. I recognize that might sound overdramatic—after all, I can see enough to walk or bike myself downtown. And our (free) bus system ain’t half bad. But in a town that’s prone to inclement weather, especially in colder and darker months, the ability to get myself somewhere easily without having to consider the weather or whether I can bum a ride is extraordinary. Accessibility translates to agency, and agency translates to independence. Unless you’re living in a big city, or fortunate enough to live close to a downtown, this can be a rare commodity. Having a taste of it makes me feel anchored; it reinforces the feeling of home.
The Town & Country Lounge is a great unifier, especially in a town where cocktails seem to get pricier every time you blink. At the T&C, every slice of Missoula is represented. I’m so happy that these new businesses seem generally poised to follow suit and provide options for everyone. Thanks to them, this little corner of Missoula has begun to change from a place people pass through to a place people spend time. We’re all the better for it.
I took my pregnancy test in the bathroom of the Town and Country bar. It seemed like it would be really funny to do that there.
Anyway I was pregnant, we got married six weeks later, and our 10th anniversary is in two weeks. Hi from Detroit!