A special report on Montana's Economy and Businesses

Starbucks 5260 Grant Creek Road With 8,500 stores around the globe, the world-renowned coffee company, which began in 1971 in Seattle, has landed its caffeinated corporation in Missoula. “It’s only the beginning,” says Mark Fitzgerald, general store manager of the new Starbucks coffee store on Grant Creek Road. Missoula’s new coffee shop sits on 1,600 square feet and is a standard Starbucks-style coffee house with adobe walls and green trim. It has a drive-through alongside and a lounge area inside that seats about 20 people. The store employs 21 people. “It is on track to become a million-dollar store in the next year,” says Fitzgerald. “We have about 3,400 to 3,400 customer transactions per day. And we project more.” Located near the freeway on undeveloped land, the coffee company attracts many Interstate 90 travelers in addition to the locals. “It’s about 50-50,” says Fitzgerald of the local and out-of-town customers. He said judging by the license plates in the store’s parking lot, half the customers are not from Montana. The third Starbucks in the state, Missoula’s Starbucks opened Sept. 2 this year. Starbucks also has stores in Helena and Billings. Fitzgerald said that in the next few years, Starbucks will open stores in Great Falls, Bozeman, Kalispell, two additional stores in Billings, and another in Helena. As for local favorites? “The pumpkin spice latte and the mocha seem to be the most popular here in Missoula,” says Fitzgerald.