Jim Bell could see the business opportunity suspended there like a puff of smoke.

In fact, the opportunity was, literally, smoke itself.

"We just saw what was happening with the bars and smoking and figured they were going to need some place for their customers to go," said Bell, a general contractor who usually builds custom homes.

But in this economy, he's building anything that pays, and that's what led to a quick partnership with his friend Dave Golden, who owns Well Done Welding.

And that partnership is what then led them to the alley behind the Rhino Bar in downtown Missoula, where on Thursday they dropped off what is probably best described as a metal smoking dugout.

"I call it the Butt Hut, but it's a dugout," said Golden, who also built the barstools that front the Rhino's bar.

So far, there's only one Butt Hut, but Golden and Bell are betting that other bars may soon join the Rhino as they look to accommodate smoking patrons who can no longer puff indoors.

Thursday marked the first day that Missoula bars and casinos can no longer allow smoking indoors.

"I think most people support the clean air act, but it is going to be a little harder on some of our patrons," said Rhino co-owner Brad Martens. "I think some of them are a little distraught and feeling like they're being picked on."

Picked on, perhaps, but at least at the Rhino they'll have a place to step outdoors and smoke where they can be out of the weather.

Bell and Golden have fashioned a 4-by-8-foot dugout that's open on both ends, but has a solid roof and a Plexiglas front window. There's a bench seat wide enough for five or six folks, and it will soon be padded.

"It's big enough to keep the rain off your neck and the wind out of your face," Martens said.

Martens said both he and his employees support the Montana Clean Indoor Air Act, but that doesn't mean he's ready to punt on his smoking clients.

"They're not secondhand citizens," he said. "They're great people."

The Rhino has been one of the holdout bars in terms of smoking; some Missoula bars banned smoking ahead of the deadline.

Martens figures he's gained a few customers because of that, and he's not anxious to lose them now that the ban has taken effect.

Thus, the Butt Hut.

"What could be better than a dugout?" he said with a laugh. "It'll be better than just standing out in the weather."

Bell and Golden hope the Butt Hut catches on.

"They're not very expensive and we'll build them and deliver," said Bell, who noted interest from a handful of bars. "We're ready to take orders."

Reporter Michael Moore can be reached at 523-5252 or at mmoore @missoulian.com.