A staple for more than three decades, the Lincoln Pit Stop restaurant is up for sale, but members of the community don’t want to see anything change.
“People don't ever want it to change or leave,” said owner Jill Frisbee. “I’ve had people tell me, ‘When the next people buy it, they have to do exactly what you're doing.’”
Evan Charney reports - watch the video:
The diner has been in Frisbee’s family since the early 90s, with her brother and sister and law being the previous owners, giving the restaurant its name and theme of a 50s-style car-themed diner.
Frisbee says it’s time to retire and spend more time with family, listing the restaurant for sale just under $400,000, hoping the new owners will keep it alive.
While they’re best known for their food and theme, their hospitality stands above the rest, with people traveling out of their way for a milkshake and burger, leaving an impact across all of Montana.
“We’ve become friends with a lot of our customers, most of our customers,” Frisbee said. “And if we’re not friends with them now, we'll become friends usually."
Longtime customer Becky Powell has been eating here for over 30 years, and can’t imagine the restaurant closing its doors for good.
“You need something like this in our small town,” Powell said. “My husband always liked coming and eating here all the time. And we always brought the kids when they came up from Oregon or wherever, we always came here to eat.”
Frisbee says after it’s sold, she’ll stick around for the first 30 days to make the transition easier for the new owners, and doesn’t plan to leave Lincoln, or the family she’s built here, anytime soon.
“I mean she's like family, and so are the employees here,” said head waitress Jennifer Bickel. “They’re all like family.”
“We're a family here, and we're treated like family,” said head cook Deeann Rios.
