by Travis Mateer

I was saddened to see Tia’s Big Sky up for sale on West Broadway, across the street from the Poverello Center, so I called up the realtor and asked if the sale was due to being in the Poverello sacrifice zone where tents line the streets, hard drugs are sold and consumed openly, and sometimes a dead indigenous woman shows up face down in the river.

What I learned is that sales were strong, but the business partners are going their separate ways. I believe this to be accurate, considering the IMAGINE brewery seems like they often have a full parking lot with plenty of customers undeterred by meth abuse and the occasional dead body.

I’m sure a local business person who understands the delicate dance of virtue-signaling will see opportunity here in this little section of Missoula plump with TIF investment, like the brewery I mentioned that almost erred by calling itself Big Medicine Brewing, something I wrote about in 2012 when I called myself lizard.

For a more detailed snapshot of what TIF does for local businesses that call it quits after a few years, here is a screenshot from this helpful website:

It will be interesting to see, when the property sells, what new owners may add to this TIF-enhanced parcel.