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Toggery Setting Up Shop in Downtown Kalispell

Popular local retailer refurbishing large vacant storefront on Main Street

By Dillon Tabish

One of the prominent, historic buildings in downtown Kalispell is being brought to life by a familiar new tenant.

The Toggery, a clothing and gear retailer with a long history in the Flathead Valley, is setting up shop at 327 S. Main Street. A building permit application was submitted to the city of Kalispell recently and renovations are underway inside the 22,860-square-foot site. The application states that crews will be working on a new façade and interior finishings, as well as modernizing the building with ADA bathrooms and a sprinkler system.

The business will be moving from its current location at 30 Commons Way to the new building, which will add a considerable amount of new space for a larger store, according to owner Trek Stephens.

Stephens said the plan is to open the new store June 1.

The addition of The Toggery represents another prominent storefront gaining new life in downtown, alongside Sweet Peaks, which opened its Kalispell location in 2012, and The Kalispell Brewing Company, which opened its doors this summer.

The new Toggery will emerge in the large three-story building that has sat vacant for 10 years and formerly housed the Army Navy store, as well as an arts and crafts business. It was originally built in 1946 as the Gambles Store, a department retailer, and was one of several new post-war developments in downtown. Gambles occupied the space until 1975.

The Toggery is one of the valley’s oldest retailers, dating back to the 1940s, and currently has two locations: in downtown Whitefish and at 30 Commons Way in Kalispell. The stores sell lifestyle clothing, footwear, gear and accessories.