Cafe Artemis chefs set to launch Top of the Town

The chefs from the kitchen at Cafe Artemis, which closed last fall in the Park Plaza Hotel, have resurfaced on the east side of town, with a much better view of the Helena Valley.

Eric Potuzak and Marc Jorgensen are opening the Top of the Town Restaurant in early June on the third floor of the Howard Johnson hotel on 11th Avenue. The restaurant features panoramic north-facing views of the Valley and the Sleeping Giant.

"There's nothing like it in this town. You can see pretty much every Helena landmark from up here," boasted Potuzek, 22, a Bozeman native and graduate of Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Las Vegas.

Jorgensen, 37, earned his culinary degree at the Art Institute of Seattle and previously owned Coffee Grounds in Montana City with his wife, Erinn.

The chef and sous chef, respectively, from Cafe Artemis, Potuzek and Jorgensen decided to stick together after that restaurant closed late last year. They considered a couple of opportunities in town before landing at HoJos, in space that was once the Smokin' Pit and more recently Uncle Buck's.

The chefs say the menu will be similar to that of Cafe Artemis -- homemade pastas and pizzas, fresh seafood, a handful of distinctive beef dishes and as many local ingredients as possible.

"We want people to know us as a polished casual restaurant," Potuzak said. "It's a little more upscale, but it's not so upscale that it's not affordable. Our average price will be comparable to any other restaurant in town."

Top of the Town will serve breakfast on Sundays, lunch Monday through Friday and dinner Wednesday through Saturday. The owners hope for a June 8 opening.

Wholesale Sports: The Sportsman's Warehouse store off Custer, already under new ownership, will soon have a new name. The store, one of 15 bought in March by the Calgary-based UFA Co-operative, will in June be renamed Wholesale Sports.

"That's the name of our Canadian outdoor outfitter," said spokeswoman Natalie Dawes. She said the co-op owns eight Wholesale Sports stores in Western Canada, and now the 15 Sportsman's Warehouse stores the co-op purchased will have the same name.

Dawes doesn't anticipate many other changes, saying the Canadian stores are very similar in their focus on hunting, fishing, camping, archery and other outdoor pursuits.

In addition to sportsmen's stores, the co-op owns farm and ranch supply stores as well as gas stations.

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