large companies eager for the reopening of the restaurant
by bay stephens ebs staff writer
big sky – caliber café and spirits is scheduled to open in august at the old bugaboo location in the big horn mall, just north of the intersection of lone mountain trail and u.s. Highway 191. Stephanie Alexander, owner of Caliber Coffee in Westfork Meadows, has partnered with Tom Newberry on the venture and said she hopes to have the place up and running by August 20. 1. While the “spirits” component is further down the road, the new cafe will serve Tex-Mex comfort food and baked goods from Elle’s Belles Bakery, a Bozeman operation with a nationwide clientele.
Reading: Bugaboo cafe big sky
open from 6:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. m. to 3:00 p.m. m., the cafe will serve drinks from an espresso bar and pre-made baked goods from elle’s belles, freshly baked in-house. alexander’s cafeteria already serves the products of the bakery. “She doesn’t work with everyone,” Alexander said of the bakery’s owner, Elle Fine.
alexander plans to serve eggs benedict, a dish everyone has been requesting, and cream cheese stuffed french toast with strawberries, along with burritos and sandwiches, all made with locally sourced ingredients. the tex-mex menu will be served from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. m. to 3 p.m. m. with the option to sit down to eat or take away.
the space to be occupied by caliber café housed the bugaboo café for the past 14 years until its official closure this spring. A dream come true for original owners Paul and Kim Cameron, Bugaboo operated under their care for over a decade before it was sold to longtime employee and friend Geoff Calef in 2015.
Although the delivery was friendly and well received by the big sky community, the company was soon hampered by a shortage of employees. calef found itself turning away clients for lack of workers, citing big sky’s affordable housing crisis as the cause.
“why travel to big sky when you can get the same job in bozeman?” calef told ebs in an August 2016 interview.
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bugaboo held by a thread with reduced hours and a minimal crew until calef finally threw in the towel a few months ago.
as alexander and newberry take over, it begs the question of what will be different for the new owners. However, Alexander is confident that his company will not repeat history. In anticipation of potential job challenges, he has already hired two cooks and a handful of servers, all of whom already live in Big Sky. alexander said he is offering competitive salaries to ensure some stability in his workforce.
“I don’t want to pass myself off as an employee like everyone else,” Alexander said.
neighboring business owners are eager to see a restaurant return to the big horn mall. As the high tide lifts all the boats in a port, these entrepreneurs have witnessed how a popular restaurant boosts the business of the entire center.
“Having a successful and busy restaurant definitely helps everyone downtown,” said kerri fabozzi, co-owner of the consignment booth, referring to the extra foot traffic the mall attracts.
fabozzi and her husband, kevin, purchased the consignment booth in september 2015 and noticed that the big horn mall is often overlooked when drivers speed out of the light into bozeman or, as she swears she has seen, they accelerate towards the traffic light to climb into the big sky.
angie turner, whose husband, photographer ryan turner, has a studio that shares a wall with the incoming cafe, echoed this impression, recalling how outdoor tables with bugaboo umbrellas attracted business from the street . customers milled around waiting for a table or browsing the department stores after dinner.
“i think having an anchor restaurant in a mall makes a big difference to all other businesses,” turner said. “Restaurants are really a destination for tourists. everyone needs something to eat.”
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jill zeidler, a potter with a studio/retail space in the same building as turner photography and the cafe, said foot traffic had dropped noticeably since bugaboo closed its doors, making it harder for visitors to discover his work.
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“The difference is huge,” Turner said. “[The cafeteria] would be a great benefit to everyone, I’m sure.”
The rest of the community could also benefit, even if there are dedicated breakfast restaurants since buttr’s closure this winter.
“A fun resort town has fun places to eat breakfast,” said Fabozzi.
alexander decided to fill the void of big sky. She owned a coffee stand in the Exxon Mobile Parking Lot off Highway 191 before purchasing Caliber and understands the importance of premises in building and maintaining a successful business.
“if you can get the local base, they can help you get through the off-season,” alexander said. “You will have the tourists, but the locals are what make you.”
alexander believes the car traffic from park visitors will also help business. in turn, the cafe could be a boon to other big horn downtown businesses while bringing another breakfast spot to big sky.
“I can’t wait for that restaurant to open,” Fabozzi said. “Your success will definitely help us, and vice versa. this is how trading works: the more, the merrier.”
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