Great Burn Brewing Loses Its Lease After 12 Years

Missoula is losing a brewery and gaining a Whole Foods, and nobody's happy about the trade.

Great Burn Brewing announced Saturday that it has lost the lease on the Midtown location it's called home for 12 years. The taproom will be torn up for a parking lot serving Midtown Market, a new commercial development with Whole Foods expected as anchor — only the second Whole Foods in Montana.

The brewery will stay open through the end of the year while it hunts for a new space, with the goal of staying in the Midtown/Southside area. It's asking fans for real estate leads, which tells you everything about how Missoula works: the community is the business plan.

Twelve years is a lifetime in brewery years. Great Burn didn't just pour beer; it anchored a corner of Midtown. A parking lot is a poor replacement.

Here's hoping the next chapter is bigger. Missoula, keep an eye out for them.