Arctic Circle closing after 40 years

If you haven't stopped by for one last Ranch Burger or a lime squeeze, time's a wasting.

Arctic Circle closes its doors at the end of business today, ending a four-decade fast-food run in Kalispell. Sam and Ann Middleton, who have owned and operated the local franchise since 1974, are boarding up the business on East Idaho Street and retiring.

It's the end of an era.

Arctic Circle, one of America's oldest fast-food franchises, came on the scene in Kalispell around 1967, long before McDonald's was a household word. Ann Middleton was working at an Arctic Circle in Buhl, Idaho, when her boss, Lloyd Adamson, bought the Kalispell franchise in 1972.

At the time, the Kalispell restaurant was little more than a walk-up lunch counter.

Adamson needed a reliable manager for the Kalispell restaurant and Ann was an ideal candidate. The Middletons were getting out of the dairy business and Sam was looking for a new challenge.

Ann knew how much work running a restaurant can be and she also knew how tied down they'd been while running a dairy. As they contemplated the move, she asked the obvious question.

"I said, 'Wait a minute, we just got through milking cows. Are you sure you want to do this?'" she recalled. "Sam decided he'd like to tackle it, so we uprooted four boys and moved to Kalispell."

Their sons, Jody, Sam Jr., Jeff and David, all worked at the restaurant at various intervals as they were growing up.

"Some of them stuck around more than others," Ann said.

THE ENTIRE family came together for the Middletons' last weekend at Arctic Circle and their sons worked in the kitchen one last time so Sam and Ann could visit with longtime customers.

The fast-food business isn't for slackers. For years the Middletons worked seven days a week, taking time off for church on Sunday but going from church to the restaurant to help with the lunch rush.

"If someone doesn't show up for work, you have to fill in," Ann said.

During the Arctic Circle's heyday in the 1970s and 1980s, the couple managed a staff of up to 29 employees. They were open until 10 p.m. and even later during the summer.

Today, there are four employees. Hiring help has become more difficult in recent years, and in 2006 the restaurant began closing at 4 p.m. because of the labor shortage.

Still, it was a wonderful way to make a living, they agreed.

"We'll miss the people more than anything," Ann said. "We've sacrificed a lot, but there have been pluses, too. It's been good to us and the Flathead has been good to us."

Many Kalispell teens got their first summer job at Arctic Circle. The Middletons hope they've had a hand in shaping the work ethic of past employees.

"At our crew meetings, we always stressed that taking care of the customer is the most important thing," Ann said.

Good customer service hasn't been the only thing that's kept people coming through the door. Their homemade taco salads, with made-from-scratch taco shells, are legendary.

"It's the best taco salad in town, that's what they say," Sam said. "Some days we'd sell 100 of them when they first came out. We still sell more than any other store in the chain."

THE FIRST Arctic Circle opened in Salt Lake City in 1950, but its roots date back to 1924 when entrepreneur Don Carlos Edwards put up a small refreshment stand

during a Pioneer Day celebration in Northern Utah. According to the Arctic Circle Web site, Edwards' little stand evolved into Don Carlos Bar-B-Q in Salt Lake City by 1941. Nine years later, he opened his second restaurant, which he called Arctic Circle.

Edwards continuously experimented with new foods. Fry sauce and children's meals are Arctic Circle originals.

The Middletons did their own experimenting with food options. They were the first store in the chain with two-flavored soft-serve ice cream. When the chocolate-vanilla blend didn't sell well, they experimented with flavors such as raspberry, pistachio, lemon and even licorice.

Today, the store's animated mascots, Artie and Clyde, will be entertaining passers-by for the last time. The morning coffee klatch will have to find a new place to gather. The lime squeezes will stop flowing.

"We're totally retiring," Sam emphasized.

Finally, there will be time to travel and time to spend with family. Since the Middletons own the building but not the land, they've been unable to sell the franchise. The California-based property owner isn't interested in extending the lease for anyone else to operate an Arctic Circle on the site, they said.

Having an empty building on their hands won't get in the way of their retirement.

"It's been great," Ann said. "We're very appreciative of the people in the Flathead. A great big thank-you goes to them for allowing us to serve them all this time."

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com