Could Montana Get Another Sizzler Restaurant?

I still clearly remember the Sizzler located on Brooks Street in Missoula. Back then, locals only visited this restaurant for major occasions such as birthday celebrations or championship wins. Every time our family went there, all of us would put on our cleanest flannel shirts and drive to the restaurant.

The steaks, self-serve salad bar, unlimited refills of cheese toast, and the surprisingly tasty pudding served in small red plastic cups are all memories deeply etched into the minds of children of the 80s and 90s. Even the tiny details of the dining experience are as vivid as if they happened yesterday. Old people would receive a baked potato the size of a rugby ball, while parents would pile their plates high at the salad bar to the point it was almost embarrassing

The Missoula location officially closed in 2002.

Montana Is Closer To Sizzler Than You Think

According to delish.com, after decades of store closures and bankruptcy filings, Sizzler has seen sales growth at many of its renovated locations by upgrading stores and centering its marketing around nostalgia. The chain has not completely disappeared from the western U.S. Stores still operate today in Idaho Falls, Twin Falls, and Pocatello, Idaho.

From Montana, those locations are only a short road trip away, complete with the opportunity to stop for an average-tasting gas station burrito somewhere along the route.

Would A Montana Sizzler Actually Work?

Just look around, local residents have a strong preference for nostalgia-driven businesses. The reopening of any longtime local pizza joint, burger stand, or buffet restaurant immediately sparks a frenzy on social media as people relive childhood memories of birthday parties, little league dinners, and family nights out from the 1990s.

Combined with Sizzler’s publicly discussed expansion and relaunch plans, it does make you wonder whether Missoula could someday support another Sizzler location. Fingers crossed.