Page 33 - Flathead Beacon // 10.7.15

TRANSACTIONS
WEEKLY BUSINESS BRIEFING
POPEYES RESTAURANT LANDS IN SOUTH KALISPELL
Last week construction crews brought the new Popeyes restau- rant to south Kalispell.
The building arrived by truck
and is now being installed off
U.S. Highway 93 on 18th Street
East near the GuestHouse Inn
and Suites & Outlaw Convention
Center. Denny Rehberg, a former
Montana congressman, and his
wife, Jan, own the franchise in
Montana and previously opened
the state’s first Popeyes in Billings
in late 2014. The Rehbergs also opened a Burger King in Kalispell near the future location of Popeyes.
The owners hope to open the new quick-service chicken restaurant by December. Over 60 employees are being hired.
Popeyes serves Southern comfort food, including chicken, biscuits and mashed potatoes.
Opening, moving or expanding a business in Northwest Montana? If you would like to be featured in “Transactions,” please email information to [email protected]
“The response has been overwhelm- ing,” Bishop said.
Humans have created body armor for millennia, initially using skins for shields and protective clothing. Then came wooden shields, and when humans began metal-smithing in ear- nest, metal became the go-to for shields and armor.
Body armor has also been made of silk and other soft garments. It has evolved as weapons have evolved, with bulletproof vests and flak jackets mak- ing their initial appearances around World War II.
Kevlar fabric came about in the 1970s. In today’s modern age, body armor is more likely to be made of thick steel plate or ceramic in an attempt to be better protected from military rifle rounds.
Bishop said his shoulder plates increase the level of protection that current shoulder plates offer, moving up from pistol armor to threat-level III rifle protection.
His design is meant to keep the wearer light and free for movement, he said, without side plates and with space between the shoulder and chest and back plates.
“It gives you protection for the vital organs, but it also gives you range of motion,” Bishop said.
When designing his new body armor, Bishop said he stayed away from steel plates because they’re known to fragment, and that shrapnel can be
dangerous. The polyethylene in his plates absorbs the bullets instead of shattering them, he said.
It’s more expensive – a set of black Hoplite armor runs at $1,775, whereas metal plating runs in the hundreds of dollars – but Bishop believes it’s worth it. And though it’s made for military and police, Bishop’s company will also sell the armor to civilians.
“I feel that it’s very important to get good equipment into people’s hands,” Bishop said.
Hoplite is working on a couple of con- tracts with military, police, and defense contractors, he said, such as a potential deal to sell 400 units to Cobb County, in Georgia. There’s also communication with Galls, one of the largest retailers of tactical equipment in the world.
Bishop’s family has a history with the military, with his father working as a defense contractor and his grand- father working in Army intelligence. Bishop said he would have liked to serve in the armed forces, but he married young and his wife didn’t want him to.
Building body armor, which he has done with various companies since at least 2005, was a suitable compromise for the couple.
“I looked for ways that I could serve my country and still keep my wife,” he said.
For more information on Hoplite, visit www.hoplitearmor.com or call 855-276-6701.
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OCTOBER 7, 2015 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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AJ SPEAR
MLO 747552
Commercial Loan Officer
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752-4051
AJ Spear