Le Petit and Taco Sano are significant institutions in Missoula, as well as prime Hellgate student lunch spots. Sadly, this won’t stay the same forever. Jessie Eagen, a real estate broker and developer has bought the building that holds both of these businesses, as well as Pink Elephant, Myrtle Street Taphouse, and GCS. Pink Elephant recently moved into the space once occupied by Kent Brothers Auto, who moved after many decades in response to this supposed building project hovering over their heads.
Jessie Eagen and Co. hope to build 100 apartment units in the space, and plan to call the complex “Waypointe.” The previous owner of the building had a design for years to redevelop the property into an apartment tower, but realized he didn’t have the means to do so and sold it. The previous owner’s original idea was to have six or seven stories, but according to Eagen, they downsized to around four stories after taking over the project due to the priciness of high verticals.
When asked if they received any pushback from the public when the original building plan came out, Eagen claimed that “…there were some social media posts [where] people were concerned about [the businesses] not being there.” He says that this was due to people assuming that they were planning on shutting the whole building down, while this was not the case.
“There will be a large portion of commercial [businesses] on the main level [and] we’re hoping that the Kettlehouse stays, [as well as] a couple other food and beverage type people,” says Eagen. He says that it’s too far off to have a concrete plan, but demolition will likely begin in July 2026.
It’s unclear how much of this plan has been communicated to the current businesses residing in the building. Eagen says that “the ball’s in their court” to decide if they’d like to return. Realistically, this isn’t as simple as it sounds for everyone.
Some business owners, such as the owner of Taco Sano, have decided that the forced move might just be the push to close permanently. The owner of Taco Sano said that she’s been on the fence about staying open as she gets older, as well as being concerned about rent prices and that Eagen’s plans for construction would be the last straw.
This plan to level Myrtle Black between 4th and 5th will end up kicking out the businesses that do plan on staying open such as Le Petit. “[We] will be moving to 529 S Higgins. A much smaller storefront, but still in the neighborhood that has been our home for over 28 years,” says the owner of Le Petit, Susan Bjelland.
Luckily, this won’t be all bad for students and others who frequent Le Petit. Ici Schemm, an employee at the coffeeshop says, “I believe that it [the new building] will be a smaller footprint with a smaller ceiling so that it might feel smaller, but it should be spread out enough, maybe more seating, and a little more functional wise as far as how we’re going to do it.” While change can be hard it’s always nice to look into the positive lens.
Regardless, the original Le Petit will be severely missed. “We’re an institution, for sure,” Schemm says.
This new building plan Eagan has taken on will definitely be interesting for the public to watch as he and the developers finalize their design. “We’ll have an announcement probably within six to nine months,” Says Eagan.
