Burned Finnegan's to reopen as 4B's

The restaurant formerly known as Finnegan’s on East Idaho Street in Kalispell is being revamped and will reopen as a 4B’s restaurant in May.

Bob Wheaton, who owns the building with his wife, Suzanne, was recently given a permit to fix damage caused by a fire that incapacitated the well-liked Finnegan’s restaurant last August. The building permit states the remodel, which includes repairs to the trusses and ceiling structure, to be valued at $23,000.

The building is owned by the Wheatons, but the restaurant is operated by 4B’s Holdings Inc., which is owned by publicly traded Star Buffet Inc., a company that Bob Wheaton is also the president of. Star Buffet Inc. has headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona.

He said Kalispell was always a good market for them, so they were happy to be reopening a restaurant in the space. He said the change to 4B’s wasn’t because Finnegan’s was under-performing, rather because 12 of the 14 restaurants the company operates in Montana are 4B’s. Consolidation made running the businesses easier, he said. They also run two JB’s restaurants in Helena and Great Falls.

“Kalispell is a wonderful city and great market for us,” Wheaton said. “It just makes sense.”

Wheaton said he was hopeful that a number of employees who used to work at Finnegan’s would come back to work at 4B’s. He said the number of employees they would be hiring for the new restaurant would be similar to the old one.

Florida-based contractor ASAP Commercial Remodeling Inc. is doing the repair work.

“They are well on their way with the work that is being done,” Wheaton said.

Reporter Peregrine Frissell can be reached at (406) 758-4438 of pfrissell@dailyinterlake.com.