"Our community is what makes us great, not the building." Great Burn Brewing ended its farewell statement with that line after confirming it had lost the lease on the taproom it has run for 12 years. The building at 2230 McDonald Ave. is set to become part of a parking lot for Midtown Market, the Whole Foods-anchored development planned for 3333 Brooks St.
The plans for that project include a 9,000-square-foot public plaza, which the developer's press release describes as "designed as a community gathering space." So the block is swapping a gathering place a family business built over a dozen years for one being designed on paper. The two won't exist at the same time. The taproom has until the end of 2026, and the project is slated for delivery in April 2028.
What the Southside Built on McDonald Avenue
Great Burn opened in 2014, when Missoula had only four other breweries. Brothers Greg and Mike Howard founded it with business partners and family, and named it for their brother Chad Howard, a wildland firefighter.
In their statement, the owners described the result plainly: "We built this as a community hub for the southside, and it has served its purpose well." The taproom has never been only a beer counter. Food trucks park in its lot, and the Missoulian's report notes that those trucks will need a new spot once the building goes. Sonny's Original told the paper it had worked at Great Burn "many times." The brewery's own calendar listed Big Thai Country for Sept. 30.
Other local businesses responded publicly. Wally and Buck, the burger restaurant, wrote on Instagram: "I hope this town can pitch in and help find you the perfect home."
What the Plan Draws in Its Place
The Midtown Market site sits on Brooks Street near Dore Lane and Southgate Mall, where the Brooks Street Motor Inn stands today. The plan, as described in the developer's press release, removes the inn, the Great Burn building and several smaller buildings. In their place it puts a public plaza, right-of-way improvements along the corridor, and three buildings with retail, restaurant and service spaces. The reported sizes of those spaces differ by outlet. The Missoulian quotes about 1,200 to 4,500 square feet. Missoula Current reports available space from 1,300 to 6,000 square feet.
Whole Foods is the anchor. Amazon owns the chain, and Montana's only other location is in Bozeman. Sterling Commercial Real Estate Advisors first described the tenant in May only as a "premium organic grocer" new to Missoula, and confirmed the Whole Foods name this month.
The Missoula Midtown Association backs the project and ties it to the neighborhood's 2023 Midtown Master Plan. Vice President Jessica Yandell put it this way:
"We're excited to welcome another new investment, another grocery option, and a mix of businesses that will complement the growth already happening in the area. Projects like Midtown Market will help create the vibrant, walkable neighborhood we envision for the future of Midtown."
The press release also says developers are "working with Great Burn Brewing on a relocation strategy." The brewery's owners have said they want to stay in the Midtown and Southside area and are assessing one possible site. They have also called the search "a daunting task as there are not great spaces for a new brewery in our neighborhood." No new address had been announced as of early October.
The Calendar Between the Two
Put the known dates in order and the gap shows up:
| When | What happens | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Sept. 24, 2026 | Great Burn's most recent posted beer-menu update | Great Burn beer menu |
| Oct. 23, 2026 | Missoula Redevelopment Agency board expected to consider the developer's TIF request | Missoulian |
| End of 2026 | Great Burn's time at 2230 McDonald Ave. ends | Missoulian |
| 2027 | Construction expected to begin | Missoulian |
| April 2028 | Projected delivery of Midtown Market | Missoula Current |
From New Year's 2027 to the project's April 2028 delivery date is roughly 15 months. If those dates hold, the site will have no taproom and no plaza for that whole stretch. The project team named in the press release is civil engineering firm IMEG, Encompass Design and Dick Anderson Construction. Sterling estimates about 125 construction jobs during the build.
Who Pays for the New Gathering Space
The Oct. 23 meeting is where the plaza connects to public money. The developer has applied to the Missoula Redevelopment Agency for tax increment financing, or TIF. That money would go toward demolishing the existing buildings, building the public plaza, new sewer connections, relocating electric utilities, and boulevard sidewalks with street trees and pedestrian-scale lighting.
Under TIF, growth in property tax revenue inside an urban renewal district is reinvested in that district. In practice, that means part of the public plaza meant to serve as Midtown's new gathering space may be paid for out of the area's own future tax growth. A separate Missoulian report found that the city had distanced itself from the project while confirming the request was pending. It added that the dollar amount had not been disclosed. The MRA board's public meeting is the first scheduled point where those numbers could become public.
Where the Grocery Part Is Already Showing Up
Yandell called Whole Foods "another grocery option." That part of the change is arriving elsewhere in town sooner and on a much smaller scale.
- Green Source Local Market, Hip Strip. Green Source, the juice bar and cafe at 617 S. Higgins Ave., is expanding into a market in the former KornUtopia storefront at the back of the building. The planned range includes meat, eggs, dairy, bread, produce and honey, with many products sourced from Missoula County and the Bitterroot. The sign said only "Opening soon."
- Forage Market, downtown. Matt Muhsam, owner of Worden's Market, is behind this deli-market on the ground floor of the Wren hotel at 160 N. Pattee St. It sells sandwiches, prepared salads, drinks and snacks.
Both are small, neighborhood-scale shops that are opening this fall. The Brooks Street grocer is a regional draw, and Sterling's pitch points to the roughly 21,700 vehicles a day on Brooks and quick access to South Reserve Street. Sterling's Connor McMahon said Missoula's retail vacancy has been under 4% with very little new space under construction, which is the developer's case for adding inventory on this corridor.
What's Still Pouring at 2230 McDonald
The building has a known end date, but the next few months at the taproom are still ahead. Great Burn's beer menu, last updated Sept. 24, 2026, lists its four flagships:
- Church Picnic Cream Ale
- Cold Trail Pale Ale
- Smoke Chaser Porter
- Great Burn IPA
The brewery's beer styles page says those four are always on tap and that the IPA is its top seller. As of Oct. 8, the brewery's events calendar showed nothing scheduled for the rest of October, and no farewell event had been posted. Hours, food-truck nights and news about a new location will come through the brewery's own channels.
The owners have been clear about what they need from the neighborhood before the move: "We need to have a few strong months of sales before we end this chapter of Great Burn." They also asked anyone with leads on real estate or rentals in the area that might suit a brewery to contact them.
For more on how Missoula's neighborhoods are changing, the Missoula neighborhood guide follows the city block by block.
If you own a home near Brooks Street and want to know how a plaza-and-grocer project with a projected April 2028 delivery affects what your property is worth today, Bethany Taylor can walk you through it with a complimentary valuation based on current Midtown sales.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
