I think Miles City needs a Golden Corral.A buffet would be nice and we would not have to drive to Buillings. A lot of food places would be nice In Miles City.

I agree. You build it, I will frequent the place.

On another note, is Royal Fork still around in Billings?

If there EVER was a town suited for a Golden Corral, that town would be Miles City.

So, funny story - we went out to the Golden Corral once when the kids were very small. I MAY have thought it funny to refer to the GC by various other names before we got there - but I didn't think it was very funny when, after we'd finished eating, and right in front of one of the waitstaff, my son turns to me and says 'So, when are we going to go to the Golden Trough?'

The Golden Corral and other such Buffet Barns in Anchorage are very popular Samoans. Lacking a sizable Samoan population, could Miles support a Golden Corral?

While I would love one to come here, I don't think they would have the revenue they have come to expect.

Plus, Bert Elwood would singlehandedly bankrupt them.

Gillette had a Golden Corral that didn't make it. I don't think MC has enough people to make that sort of business work.

Heck we could not even keep an A&W (twice), a KFC or a Taco Bell.

Plus Miles City would need to upgrade its sewer system.

Plus Miles City would need to upgrade its sewer system.

That statement is actually in-correct. Miles City not only needs to upgrade its sewer system now, but it needs to upgrade its water plant, and make room for business and residential growth. For Miles City to support more eating establishments, indoor pool, and a lot of the amenities that I hear people asking for, Miles City needs to take a new stance on zoning and business relief for start-ups. A little industrialization would go a long way.

There is no reason Miles City couldn't grow to 15,000 - 20,000 residents and truly become a hub in South Eastern Montana.

Back in the 1980s. when the Tongue River Railroad was arriving again "next year," the city planning department estimated the town would grow to 20,000 by 2000 and did some very strange zoning to accommodate that growth.

Instead, the Milwaukee went toes up for the last time and the population dropped.

Expansion is not just a matter of folks showing up. We have the flood situation to deal with. We can't grow to the west because of Fort Keogh. Much of the area around Miles City is not really suitable for building on. We have made massive upgrades to the water and sewer system but those are continuous. We will never have "enough" water and sewer capacity because we keep using more of those items.

As for restaurants, franchises run from several hundred thousand to several million to get started. Corporations have standards about population density and income, which we do not meet. Remember when Krispy Kreme allowed a store to open in Billings even though it was way too small by corporate standards?

Yup.

[Edited by Amorette Allison (4/16/2015 10:39:29 AM)]

For what it's worth (and somebody please correct me if I'm wrong) I heard that the KFC closed because the company was requiring huge remodels to the restaurant and the owner didn't want to spend the $$ so he sold it out.

Which is sad, I really like KFC.

I seem to recall that KFC was rolling out its "grilled chicken" at the time and it would have required a significant upgrade to the kitchen equipment. I believe that was the demise of the Miles City KFC.

That was a good bit of it. Investing several hundred thousand and signing another long term franchise agreement.

Alright, I have mocked all you stupid country bumpkins enough already on this thread.

Now is the time to listen to some serious advice from me.

JUST SAY NO TO STUPID CORPORATE FRANCHISES!!!!!

Support local farm to market restaurants, like we do in western Montana.

Knuckle-dragging local yokels, IT IS NOT THAT HARD!!!! EAT GOOD AND EAT RIGHT!!!!

I return you now to your previously scheduled hillbilly chat.

Unless it's Taco Johns. Treasure your TJ's, because you never know when it'll be gone.

Just read a delightful piece on Food Safety News about how unsafe buffet lines are.

Bridgier, do I sense someone is missing their potato oles smothered in nacho cheese?

Please, no.

"Golden Corral" or "Potato Olés® smothered in nacho cheese"?

Super Potato Oles, smothered in nacho cheese...