The first franchised motel chain in the U.S. is back in Helena.

The former Guest House Inn & Suites, on 11th Avenue, recently became a Howard Johnson's. New owners Harry and Shelly Bharadwaj closed on the property in late June and will formalize the conversion to the new franchise this week.

Originally an ice cream business born in Massachusetts in the 1920s, Howard Johnson's opened its first motor lodge in 1954. Today, the chain is part of the Wyndham Hotel Group.

The couple moves to Helena from Sacramento with their two children. They bought Super 8 motels in Dillon and Hamilton in recent years, and came to Helena almost by accident.

Harry Bharadwaj was trying to fly home to California from Butte last winter when his flight was canceled, so he took a rental car to Helena to catch a different flight. He was impressed when he got here.

"I called my wife and said, 'This is a beautiful place, a small town, a good place to raise our children maybe,' " he said.

"He called me and said he had found the most beautiful city," Shelly Bharadwaj said. "It will be a little cold, but I will make the compromise for the family."

The new owners have already painted the exterior of the building, though Harry chuckled at the idea of adding Howard Johnson's signature orange roof. They've upgraded to flat screen televisions in a handful of rooms, and Harry Bharadwaj said he plans to replace around a half-dozen a month until all of the hotels 75 rooms have new TVs.

The hotel industry isn't as diverse as it might appear. In addition to Howard Johnson's, the Wyndham Hotel Group includes Super 8, Days Inn and Wingate by Wyndham, along with several other chains (Ramada, Baymont, Travelodge and Knights Inn among them) that aren't represented in the local market.

Economy anecdotes: It can be difficult to take the overall pulse of a small city's economy, especially one where the government is a major employer. But the stories you hear around town can help.

A delivery driver told me this week business is down.

"People are ordering fewer things at home," he said. Further, traffic is lighter too, he said, particularly at 5 p.m. Whereas he used to have trouble getting onto 11th Avenue, which was backed up from the interstate to North Montana, now there's plenty of space.

That could be fewer drivers due to higher gas prices, or fewer people going out to shop after work.

Save the seat: We've all heard the complaining, and probably done some ourselves at one time or another, that it always seems cheaper to fly somewhere from Bozeman or Great Falls or Missoula than from Helena.

However, I just bought a ticket from Helena to Albany, N.Y. for $366. In the decade I've lived here, I don't think I've ever gotten to the East Coast for less.

There may be some luck involved, but those cheap seats are still out there.

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