GREAT FALLS — Firehouse Steamers will be opening soon in Great Falls, serving up brats, hot dogs, and desserts - some with an international flair.
Work is underway at the restaurant, located at 1201 10th Avenue South (across from the mall). Owner Dean Grundy says that the inspiration for the place comes from a family tradition of being at the firehouse.
"Some of my best memories are from the firehouse I grew up in a household where my father was a firefighter, and then I became a firefighter. So, as a child, I enjoyed being in the firehouse as an adult; it just got better when my family visited me there. That's the vision I have for me for this place when people come here, and they will enjoy it. Not just getting the food but also the atmosphere. Then a big part of my career was serving people and I have been missing that. So, I'm looking forward to serving people and getting to know my customers. Another big part of the firehouse is food the firefighters cook for each other, and if they didn't cook, they would clean up and so I'm looking forward to that part too," he explained.
We asked how they are dealing with COVID-19 restrictions on business. "I'm working on the restaurant, I'm not necessarily trying to open it during the pandemic. COVID-19 is what's happening to us right now, so I'm dealing with it. It's been a nice release from it, I have been able to be on my own in the shop putting things together. So that's been good for me personally. It's getting closer to my goal of opening when the time comes."
Grundy hopes to open sooner rather than later, but realizes it's out of his control: "I would love to open in June, but that is out of my control. So I'm going to try my best to have everything wrapped up and ready in June, and if I have the approvals from the local government and things are looking better for public health, I'm going to go ahead and open. But I'm not in a real crunch to open. The restaurant is something fun for me. I'm a retired firefighter, and I have wanted to do something like this since I left the fire services, I'm not in a huge rush."
The new restaurant will serve a takeout style, but you can still come and sit down and eat.
"My real hope is people will go follow us on Instagram; I'm trying to reveal the menu on Instagram or Facebook and trying to let them see it a little bit at a time, I have it together, but I don't want just to lay it out there. I can tell you a bit of a couple of items I'm excited about we are going to make some hot dogs on the firehouse theme named after international names for firefighters. We have a dog that is wrapped in a fresh flour tortilla and deep-fried and topped with sour cream and pico de gallo, and that would be the bombora."
Grundy added, "All of our dogs and brats are from a Montana company, Pioneer Meats in Big Timber. We are excited to have Montana meats, and we are going to have a deli case and offer those meats for retail sale as well."
Click here to visit the Facebook page, and click here to check out their Instagram page.
