The Desoto Grill

The Desoto Grill is a restaurant in Kalispell, MT, operating as a barbecue spot with a rockabilly theme. The menu centers on Rockabilly BBQ along with mac-n-cheese, desserts, and Montana beers. The restaurant is open Tuesday through Friday from 11am to 9pm and is closed Saturday and Monday.

The story behind the restaurant began 21 years ago when the owners met over a missed workday that turned into a powder day on Big Mountain. After dating briefly, one of them was taken to meet Grandpa Art, whose 1954 Desoto Powermaster eventually became the inspiration for the restaurant's name. After marrying and moving to Portland, Oregon for job opportunities, one spent 17 years as a general manager at a high-volume restaurant called Sweet Tomatoes while the other worked for BMW. Over the years they rebuilt hot rods, including Grandpa Art's 1954 Desoto, watched their son graduate from the University of Oregon, and eventually decided to return to Kalispell. They purchased a beer and wine license and, within hours, had contacted the owners of a local blacksmith shop called Forge and booked a flight to Kalispell. With a commercial Traeger Smoker and years of BBQ experience already in hand, they quit their jobs, sold their house, and opened the barbecue restaurant in 45 days.

The Desoto Grill sits on 1st Street West, about a tenth of a mile from the Kalispell Center Mall and Magic Diamond Casino, roughly a fifth of a mile from Red Lion Hotel Park and the Flathead Post Office, and near where South Main Street and North Main Street meet a short distance to the east.

A family-run barbecue restaurant born from a restored classic car and a cross-country move back to the Flathead Valley, The Desoto Grill brings Montana smoked meats and a rockabilly spirit to downtown Kalispell.