The North Battleford location of Montana's officially opened on September 22. (Josh Ryan/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Josh Ryan

Open for business

Montana’s opens in North Battleford

Sep 22, 2020 | 12:38 PM

Family and friends in North Battleford have their first taste at a new eatery this fall, one of the few businesses to open shop during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Montana’s BBQ and bar is officially open, after a well-attended family and friends event took place over the weekend. The 103rd establishment of the restaurant chain comes after months of racing to finish work on the building during shutdown limitations.

Montana’s Executive Chef Jenn Hennings said getting this location open has required a number of changes and incredible work from the training team.

“Re-developing how we train people, making sure there’s smaller groups and that everyone’s keeping safe by trying to keep distances whenever possible,” she said.

“I’ve worked in a restaurant for 35 years and I’ve learned so much in the last three,” General Manager Carole Makowichuk said.

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The original opening date was scheduled to be September 4, but the initial shutdown in the spring and ensuing regulations quickly put them behind schedule. To accommodate staff with social barriers and manage budget constraints, Makowichuk said they had to have tradespersons work in separately in order to meet the health mandate from the province.

“There were roofers working midnight shifts,” she said. “We had dry wall workers working one shift, then plumbers working another shift, because not everyone was allowed to work at the same time.”

While slightly behind schedule, Makowichuk was impressed with how quickly they progressed, considering the situation. She said they were able to train staff quickly, thanks in part to corporate support.

“Normally there would be a training team of five, but in our case, there’s a training team of nine,” Makowichuk said. “And they’re staying [for a longer period].”

One of their goals is to make inroads throughout the community right away, such as through their service and their support of charitable organizations. The weekend launch for family and friends had all tips donated to Kidsport, in support of families who are unable to pay for their children’s participation in registered youth sport programs.

“We’re a family-oriented restaurant, family business, so we like to help out the kids,” Makowichuk said.

“Customers are always first, we want to make a great first impression,” General Manager Paige Manegre said.

(Josh Ryan/battlefordsNOW)

And as they open their doors to the public, both GM’s said the people they want to thank the most are the staff.

“We’re super happy to have the strong team that we have,” Manegre said. “We’re very lucky.”

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josh.ryan@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JoshRyanSports