Kalispell Sizzler closes on Sunday

The Sizzler restaurant on Hutton Ranch Road in north Kalispell will close its doors for good on Sunday. 

The company announced it is going out of business due to declining customer counts and rising food costs. 

“It’s become too hard to manage and continue to make money,” general manager Heidi Dennison said. “It’s especially hard with our salad bar. Shipping costs are too high.” 

Dennison said the restaurant’s owner is filing for bankruptcy. 

The Hutton Ranch Road restaurant opened March 15, 2009. The previous Sizzler restaurant in Kalispell opened in 1977 on U.S. 2 West. 

Sizzler staffers learned of the closure Sept. 27. Dennison said she has around 25 employees who are now scrambling to find work. 

“I’ve had a lot of staff who have worked here for a long time, some nearly 20 years,” Dennison said. 

According to Dennison, some employees will take the chance to retire while others will pursue new career opportunities such as preaching or photography. 

“We’re very close, so the staff are encouraging each other and helping each other to find work,” Dennison said. “The Flathead Valley has been great to us too. We’ve had customers come in and offer our employees jobs or advice. There’s been a lot of positive feedback.”

The restaurant will close permanently at 8 p.m. on Sunday. 

Reporter Brianna Loper may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at bloper@dailyinterlake.com.