by Travis Mateer

Lions are powerful animals, which is why men sometimes appropriate their likeness for tattoos. Or, for the purposes of THIS post, a logo for a corporate brand.

That’s right, WAGS CAPITAL is the business invoking LION energy in order to create the impression that former football player, Aaron Wagner, is a competent ALPHA-male business man who will successfully transform the former Missoulian building on the Hip Strip into towering condos. But will he?

For context, here are two posts about how Wags Capital created unnecessary controversy regarding this development project that locals were sure to hate in the first place:

Getting To Know Wags Capital While Speculating On A Brewing Oligarch Battle (December 2nd, 2021)

Wags Hands Off To Bergquist To Build The Archie, The Belle, And The Cam (September 21st, 2022)

I hadn’t given any thought to Aaron Wagner and his Hip Strip condo project until Christmas, when I received an email from an upset mother in Utah, where Wags Capital is based. Apparently one of the Wags Capital food brands hasn’t been able to pay its employees payroll, and this mother is trying to understand how an ALPHA male like Mr. Wags can project ALPHA strength while his company’s brand closes and screws over teenage girls.

Here is a portion of the email from the concerned mother in Utah who I had a chance to speak with on the phone this week:

Hello Mr. Mateer,

I came across with one of the blogs about Aaron Wagner and WagsCapital from a couple years ago while researching WagsCapital. 

Let me share a story about WagsCapital, they owned or have a Restaurant registered in the state of Utah, Kokonut Island Grill of Pleasant Grove, Ut. among other UT local restaurants. Andy and Carmilla P. as co-owners (to my daughter’s knowledge they owned 40%).   

Here is where all begins, my daughter started working there at the beginning of October, everything started fine, no issues beside some workplace drama, that drama grew and she started noticing more coming from management to the point of making some employees quit. At the end of November rumors started growing between employees that the numbers were bad, management made a mistake of changing the menu for the worse and sales declined, not only that but Google reviews started pouring badly. At the end of November, my daughter noticed that the amount she got paid was not accurate according to what the app used for schedules was showing every day. I made the suggestion to take screenshots of what the app was showing to see if there was any mistake with her paycheck, this later become a blessing for her. At the beginning of December, to be more accurate Dec. 5th, she received a message through the same app from Daisy (supervisor) that the restaurant was going to close for “maintenance” for the rest of the week, no further explanation. On Sunday, my daughter logged in to see what her schedule for the week, to her surprise nothing was posted. No schedules were posted for any of the employees. She proceeds to ask about it, but there was no response from management. To add injury to the situation, that same week of December 3rd was payday week, which she inquired about it as well because no payment was posted into her bank account (until this day, Dec 25th she is still waiting for it)There was no response for neither. Text after text, nothing. No explanation as if she was going to work or to when to expect her paycheck. No work dismissal at all, no termination letter, no paycheck! Then management went radio silent. She is not the only employee in the same situation, according to Facebook messages and Google reviews they did the smear thing to other locations. She is being in contact with coworkers (majority teenagers) and the frustration is the same.

A struggling restaurant brand doesn’t necessarily mean a struggling parent company, so I decided to make the local rounds in Missoula to see what I could find out. Here are the results of my brief investigation.

According to the Montana Cadastral website, The Belle LLC is still the primary owner, which is Wags Capital, but ownership doesn’t automatically confer viability, so I made a few more attempts to get information with the Missoula Redevelopment Agency, the WGM Group, and Cole Bergquist’s office at Pure West.

I learned the LEAST from Pure West, but that’s probably because Cole Bergquist was in California, which makes sense, since that’s where he’s from. For some context on THIS alpha male, here’s how he frames his football/real estate career:

Cole grew up in San Clemente, CA and moved to Missoula, MT to attend The University of Montana where he majored in Accounting and Finance. Cole was the starting Quarterback for the Griz from 2005–2008 and led them to four consecutive Big Sky Championships and a National Championship game. After college, he played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL for three years.

In his first three years in real estate, Cole sold over 125 properties, distinguishing him as one of the top producers in the area. Cole believes that when you buy or sell a home you should remember the process as an exciting and hassle-free experience.

When I went to the WGM Group this week (after leaving a message with Jeff Smith), they told me that they no longer represent Wags Capital on this project. This is the benefit of begin LOCAL and actually showing up, in person, to the places where I’m trying to get information. If I had just made phone calls and waited for a response, I wouldn’t have developed the following perspective: this project appears to be DEAD.

When I called MRA and pressed the number for the director, I was pleased to hear Ellen Buchanan’s calm, confident voice on the other end of the line. What did I learn from Ellen? Nothing much, since this property is NOT in an Urban Renewal District, but I did learn that our current economic climate in America is causing MANY hiccups with big development projects. Excellent damage control, Ellen!

Yes, Ellen was confident that this project would “come back around” despite all the indicators I’m seeing that the white lion does NOT have the prowess he projects. What would Andrew Tate think about all this?

There will be more to report on this development project, so stay tuned. Also, it appears a historic building right across the street from this site will be getting some refurbished love, so that should bring some attention to this part of Missoula and the ambitions of developers like Aaron Wagner.

If you appreciate my local reporting, consider pitching in by supporting Travis’ Impact Fund (TIF). Any little bit helps.

Thanks for reading!