Our Story

Restaurant and cars have always been our passion. When Willie came in for lunch 21 years ago, only to find out that i skipped work for an epic powder day on Big Mountain, he finally decided to ask me out.

After we dated a couple of months, he took me to meet his best friend and mentor Grandpa Art. Grandpa gave me the grand tour, which included a trip to the old shed. He pulled back the dusty car cover to reveal a 1954 Desoto Powermaster. “She still runs great” he said, as he turned the key to prove it. Within a year, he was the best man at our wedding.

Two years later, we packed our bags and moved to Portland, O.R. for job opportunities. I spent the next 17 years as a general manager for a high volume restaurant called Sweet Tomatoes, and Willie worked for BMW. We made some money, and built some hot rods, and saw our son graduate from the University of Oregon, and marry a fantastic lady. One of the hot rods we rebuilt was Grandpa Art’s ’54 Desoto. Willie came home and pulled it out of the same shed on his 40th birthday, to eventually turn it into a “rolling piece of Art”.

After many years of being away from home, we wanted to come back to Kalispell, but nothing was ever right, despite constant searching. One day, a beer and wine license came on the market. I was so excited, but we had no building. Willie reminded me, “What about Forge?” Just two hours later, I was on the phone with the owners of this amazing blacksmith shop, and booking a flight to Kalispell.

We already had a commercial Traeger Smoker and lots of experience with BBQ, so why not quit our jobs, sell our house, and move back home to open a barbecue restaurant in 45 days? The plan was insane, but the time was now. The easiest part was choosing the name Desoto Grill. Now we’re home, hot rods and all. We’re have a blast, making great food, and enjoying the company of our friends, both old and new.