that neighborhood feel

Big Dipper & Le Petit Outre Join Forces in New Location

By Emily Darrell, 10-12-07

Charlie Beaton and Leif Bjelland, owners of Big Dipper Ice Cream and Le Petit Outre bakery respectively, are opening a joint venture on Third Street, near the intersection of Third and South Reserve by the Orchard Homes neighborhood. The new location will offer beer and wine along with ice cream and baked goods and will have both indoor and outdoor seating. The owners hope that it will serve as a meeting place for locals.

“The idea is to create a neighborhood feel,” Beaton said.

Beaton, Bjelland—who said he got “a total deal” on the building a few years ago—and Bryan Hickey, a longtime Big Dipper employee who will be a co-owner of the new shop, are excited about opening businesses in an area mostly known for its industrial buildings and big box stores. Although there are several independent businesses on South Reserve in proximity, such as Caras Nursery, there are no bars or restaurants in the neighborhood.

Bjelland said the Le Petit Outre portion of the new building will cater more to retail customers than the business’ current outlet on South Fourth Street, which serves mostly as a wholesale bakery. The Big Dipper portion of the business will function as both a retail and wholesale center. Though the space won’t be open for retail until next year, Bjelland plans to have wholesale operations up and running at the new space by next month and already has one of his three ovens ready for use.

The owners believe the new location will attract the same broad demographic as their downtown shops have, but will also attract a different clientèle due to location. “I don’t think a lot of people who live out here are driving downtown just for ice cream,” Beaton said.

The Big Dipper/Le Petite complex is just one example of a downtown-centric local businesses having either expanded or moved to Reserve Street, hoping to bring that neighborhood feel along.

Caroline Burdulis, co-owner of the Chinese medicine center Bitterroot Acupuncture and Herbarium on South Reserve, said that many of her clients come from the Bitterroot Valley and from the university area and that the Orchard Homes location is convenient for both groups. When Burdulis and her partner Bryan Watrous first opened shop in Missoula two years ago, after moving from Santa Cruz, California, they had a downtown location near Woody Street. When their business began expanding and they needed more space they were at first a bit reluctant about moving to Reserve. “It’s known in Missoula as the big box street, and we definitely didn’t want to be a part of that,” Burdulis said.

However, Burdulis said she’s happy with her center’s new location, in a building that also houses a birthing center, a physical therapist, and other independent medical practices, and that her client base has continued to grow. Traffic, Burdulis said, is a bit of a concern in the area, and she has requested that the city put a stoplight in at South Reserve and Spurgin Road.

Beaton and Bjelland are optimistic about the success of the new Big Dipper/Le Petit Outre enterprise near Orchard Homes and don’t plan on an aggressive advertising or marketing campaign. Beaton has a “If you build it they will come theory,” he said.

Of the very popular Big Dipper outlet at Higgins Avenue and Fifth Street, Beaton said: “When I opened there in 1996 people said it was a bad spot, kind of off the road.”

Both Big Dipper and Le Petit have been around for more than a decade and Bjelland believes the strong reputation of the businesses in the Missoula community —Bjelland estimates that he donated about $20,000 in baked goods to local nonprofits last year—will help the new location succeed. 

“I believe if you make something great people will find a way to it,” Bjelland said.

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