In the mid twenty teens, Jed and Jennifer Heggen began discussing the creation of a dream-project in the heart of Downtown Missoula. Jed being an avid home brewer for many years was ready to take his recipes commercial and Jennifer, who taught culinary science at the University of Montana and studied under Thomas Keller at Bouchon, was excited to create a space for elevated hospitality and, eventually, a kitchen that represented her tastes from years of experience in the industry. They settled on a historic space on Main St. with a beautiful patio close to the river and hired Brewmaster Timmy Evon to build and run the brewery. The goal was a classy but accessible pub experience with high-quality, diverse craft beer. This evolved rather quickly to include options for guest beers representing our friends’ breweries as well as cider, seltzer and a sneaky impressive wine list. Recently we rounded out the options with a solid liquor and cocktail menu to create an experience that truly has something for everyone.

During renovation of Cranky Sam Public House, we stumbled upon a treasure-trove of artifacts that shed light on Missoula’s Red Light District, specifically the early Chinese and prostitution communities. Students and professors from the archaeology department at the University of Montana, Missoula excavated sections of the property as we dug for new water and sewer line and found hundreds of artifacts that shed light on these early communities including liquor and medicine bottles, cosmetic containers, syringes, opium pipes, coins, game pieces, and beautiful Chinese pottery.