New Grocery Store Plans It's First Store In Montana

There is a new grocery store making it's way to Bozeman and it's not Trader Joes...

The Bozeman Real Estate Group released the following on their official website.

Plans have been approved by the city for a new grocery store to be built near Bozeman High School. The plans show a 22,000 sq.ft grocery store on a 2.37-acre section of the 25-acre shopping center on W. Main Street and N 15^th Avenue.
The grocery store will be located at the northeast corner of the shopping center, next to Harbor Freight. According to city documents, the applicant purchased land from the shopping center to create a separate parking lot for the store.

We were unable to get official confirmation of what the grocery store will be, but the original plans submitted to the city refer to the store as Smart Foods Bozeman. Smart Foods is an independent and employee-owned grocery retailer with locations in Oregon and Northern California.

One interesting thing to note is that the build site is located within a “Brownfield” Solvent Site Zone after the operation of a dry cleaning business in the 60's and 70's leaked cleaning solvents into the soil and groundwater.
Now, the site is subject to continuous groundwater monitoring and the final approval of the project is contingent upon a work plan from the City’s environmental consultant. -Bozeman Real Estate Group

Mostly based in Oregon and California, Bozeman will be the first Montana location for the chain. We will keep you updated as more information is released.

cc: Bozeman Real Estate Group

5 Businesses Montanans Wishes Would Come Back

As most know, Bozeman, Montana is a growing town/city. The population has almost doubled in the last few years, housing prices have skyrocketed, and businesses have either strived or suffered.

The one thing that Bozeman residents all say, is they miss the "old Bozeman". What they mean is they miss the small-town feel, the minimal traffic, and the affordable living. Along with those, there are a few businesses Bozemanites really wish would return.

Here are the Top 5 Businesses Montanans Miss.

Gallery Credit: Megan Shaul, Derek Wolf

10 Montana Grocery Items That Could Be In Short Supply In 2023.

The last couple of years has been rough for a lot of Montanans as the supply chain was disrupted over the whole pandemic. Of course, we're now a few years removed, and yet certain items are still hard to come by.

Although we've "officially" moved on, there are now other factors that are being blamed for higher prices and lower supply. The war in Ukraine, high fuel costs, lack of manpower, etc. It seems there are several reasons behind it, and none of them look like they're in our favor as consumers.

So what does this all mean? It means that we're looking at a possible shortage when it comes to groceries. Sadly, most of the items on the list are staples that we tend to use on a regular basis.

Gallery Credit: Derek Wolf