Bear's Den relocating to raise profile

According to the most recent traffic data provided by the city's engineering department, around 3,000 cars a day drive on Front Street between Neill Avenue and 14th Street.

While that wouldn't qualify Front Street as a quiet country lane, it's a pretty low figure for a retail business hoping to raise its profile in the community.

That's why Alan Snell is moving his Bear's Den Custom Framing and gallery business off of Front Street and into Malfunction Junction, one of the busiest intersections in town.

Snell expects to be open by June 1 in the building on the southwest corner of the intersection that was a longtime filling station and more recently a used car lot.

"I just thought the exposure would be a lot better," Snell said. "We've been in this location for five years and I still get people wondering where we're at."

Snell, who's been in business for 16 years, was on Helena Avenue before moving to Front Street.

When considering hanging a shingle in a new-to-them location, business owners often need to consider why it was that the previous tenants aren't there any more: was there a problem with the business itself? Or was the location partly to blame?

After all, the roads surrounding Malfunction Junction are some of the busiest in town: 25,000 cars a day on North Montana just north of the intersection, 21,500 cars a day on the section of North Montana just to the south, and 13,500 cars daily on Lyndale just to the west, according to Montana Department of Transportation data.

Yet despite being the crossroads of some of Helena's busiest streets, there are several high-profile vacant commercial spaces at or near the intersection.

Snell believes setting up at Malfunction Junction will help his business.

"Since my business is a destination versus selling pop and candy bars, I think the main thing is exposure and letting people know you're there," he said. "It's accessible as far as people coming in and out, and I'll have plenty of parking as well."

In addition to custom framing, Snell paints landscapes, wildlife and other subjects in acrylic, and does print-on-demand for other artists. The Bear's Den makes an interesting addition to the MidTowne District, the loose coaltion of business that spans from a couple blocks up Helena Avenue, through Malfunction Junction and diagonally across toward the railroad tracks.

One less pharmacy: Snyder's Western Drug on North Montana near Custer will close for the final time on May 28, with the store's pharmacy business -- and the majority of its employees -- being picked up by Albertson's.

Minnesota-based Snyder's bought five Western Drug stores in Montana several years ago, but sold the four Billings locations to CVS in March of last year. That left Helena as the lone outpost among the company's 27 locations, the rest of which are all in Minnesota, nearly all in and around the Twin Cities.

"It was just cost prohibitive to have just one store that far away," said spokeswoman Colleen Bracy. "It was too costly to manage, it was too costly to get merchandise there. It's just not profitable for us to keep it any more."

Bracy said the store was corporate owned, and didn't own its building here. She said 12 of the stores 18 employees have already agreed to catch on with Albertson's, with more scheduled to interview. Everyone will get a severance package, she said, whether they move to the new store or not.

E-mail your Open for Business ideas to john.harrington@helenair.com.