Bell to bell: the Hungry Moose celebrates 30 years in Big Sky

By Fischer Genau DIGITAL MEDIA LEAD

On Halloween in 1994, a customer purchased a pumpkin at the brand new brick-and-mortar location for the Hungry Moose Market and Deli off Montana Highway 64, marking the first official sale of the longstanding grocery. In the 30 years since, “the Moose” has changed locations, changed hands and evolved to meet Big Sky’s needs, but it remains an iconic local business serving the community.

In 1994, Big Sky was in dire need of fresh produce. Not much grew in the high alpine soil, and the nearest fresh fruits and veggies were miles down the canyon in Four Corners. Two of Big Sky’s newest residents, Mark and Jackie Robin, decided to do something about it. The couple, who arrived in 1993 and had their first son Andrew, opened up a farm stand on Wednesdays in the Westfork Meadows, called it the Big Sky Farmers Market, and became the only vendors selling fresh cucumbers, onions, cherries, and flowers in town.

It was an immediate hit.

“The customers who were year-round residents and loved fresh food just said to us, ‘You’ve got to keep this going,’” Jackie Robin told EBS. “That’s what sparked the idea of the Hungry Moose and that’s when [Mark] and I looked at each other and said, ‘Okay, should we do it?’”

Three decades later, it seems like they made the right choice. In the fall of ‘94, the Robins moved their farmstand into a 700-square-foot building and officially opened for business on Nov. 1—after selling that inaugural pumpkin the day before. The Robins wanted to supply foods that weren’t readily available in Big Sky, and since the Donovan family already operated the Country Market grocery store, the Hungry Moose stocked its shelves with items they didn’t carry, like all-natural and world foods in addition to fresh produce and flowers. The Moose, like that first farmstand, was an immediate success, and it soon outgrew its 700-square-foot space.

“We filled the store up to the brim,” Jackie said.

Mark and Jackie purchased the second half of the building in 1998 and added a deli, selling sandwiches, smoothies and whatever else they could whip up in their tiny kitchen. The Moose kept growing, and expanded again in 2005 when it moved into its current location on Ousel Falls Road. And once the Moose opened its doors, it rarely closed them.

“It was important that we don’t close and that we don’t shorten our hours,” Jackie said. “My husband was really adamant about that. We didn’t close for anything.”

That often involved working the store from when it opened in the morning until it closed late at night—”bell to bell,” Jackie recalled—especially over the holidays, but Mark and Jackie were totally committed to the business.

“We did put so much of ourselves into it. There was really no going back,” Jackie said.

The Moose stayed open 6:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., 365 days a year, to serve Big Sky’s residents, and the market and deli quickly became a place to gather.

Meet me at the Moose

“The Moose has been a staple in this town forever,” said Kristin Kern, who co-owns the Hungry Moose with her daughter Kelly after she and her husband Frank purchased it from Jackie Robin in 2019.

The Kerns were regulars at the Moose, and Kristin says it was always a place people could catch up on the latest local news, get a wildflower report, or just chat with Mark and Jackie, who always took time during the hustle and bustle of running the store to talk. Mark and Jackie’s eldest son Andrew remembers the Moose in the early days as a kind of town square, with people who had just arrived in Big Sky mingling with locals who lived there full-time. Andrew grew up in the store and started working formal shifts when he was 12 (he worked informally there long before that, and his dad used to tell a story of leaving Andrew at the store to run an errand and coming back to see an eight-year-old Andrew sitting behind the counter, handing a customer change—albeit an incorrect amount—for a purchase).

“My parents would take time to stop and scoop ice cream for local kids,” Andrew said. “The priority was the community. The culture was very positive—we’re here for you, we want to know what you’re doing, how you’ve been.”

That culture at the Moose extended to its employees. Mark and Jackie worked hard to give employees working there, called “Moosers,” benefits like health insurance, vacation pay and 401k, and Jackie would agonize over creating employees’ schedules to give everyone two days off in a row.

“We all tried really hard to give people attractive schedules so they could get a break, so they could ski or hike or bike or whatever their recreation was,” Jackie said. “We also worked with employees that were struggling, if they had substance abuse issues or it was their first time out on their own and they were really not making it. We didn’t just kick them out the door, we tried to really nurture our employees.”

Attracting and retaining employees is difficult in a seasonal town like Big Sky, but the Robins’ attitude towards Moosers kept many coming back. When Ashley Dodd moved to Big Sky in 2005, the very first place she set foot in was the Hungry Moose to buy some groceries, and she started working part-time in the deli soon after. Dodd moved away for a few years to start a family, and when she returned in 2013, she immediately called Jackie to ask about a job.

“Mark and Jackie, they were really, really wonderful,” Dodd said. “I liked the environment of the Hungry Moose. Even when I worked there part time, they were very encouraging of just my life in general.”

Lindsie Feldner, now the food service manager at the Big Sky School District, worked at the Moose as the head of savory foods while Dodd was the head baker and had a similar experience.

“It was very social and very fun, and Jackie and Mark just ran a true community business,” Feldner said. “They love their employees, and they love them as people, not just employees.”

A lasting legacy

The culture and character that the Robins created has remained intact over the years. After the Kerns purchased the Moose in 2019, Jackie and Andrew Robin stayed on for a six-month transition period to help them learn the business. Mark fell ill with ALS in 2016 and passed away a year later—his life is celebrated each year as part of the Big Sky Soul Shine Festival—and the Kerns wanted to perpetuate the tradition that he and Jackie had established.

“Mark and Jackie and the Robin family did really build such a strong culture,” said Kelly Kern. “We want to make sure that [the Hungry Moose] retains this really special community feel.”

Before buying the business, the Kerns had mostly interacted with the handful of people working in the Hungry Moose storefront, and they were surprised to discover that Jackie had about 70 employees on the payroll. They were also surprised when, on the first day of the transition, the Robins gave the Kerns a handbook three inches thick with advice, protocols, and procedures. But the handoff went smoothly, and Andrew and Jackie both enjoyed working with Frank, Kristin and Kelly.

“They’re just great people, so I just love that I had that moment to be able to work with them, get to know them, and get to learn from them,” Andrew said. “I think they still are very much supporting the community of people that are just coming to Big Sky for their first time and people that have been here forever.”

Andrew still visits the Moose “pretty much every other day,” and continues to feel a connection to the Moosers working there. Former head chef Lindsie Feldner also remains connected to the Moose.

“I think they still have a really great staff,” Feldner said. “Some of the people that I used to work with are still there, and I think that says a lot for the people that [the Robins] sold it to.”

Frank Kern, who initiated the purchase of the Moose to become more involved in the community, passed away in 2020, but his wife Kristin and daughter Kelly have kept his vision alive. Under the Kerns’ leadership, the Moose remains a community staple for many Big Sky residents, preserving the legacy that the Robins established.

“Hungry Moose Market and Deli has been an integral part of the community building of Big Sky since 1994, and that is what I’m most proud of,” Jackie said. “It wasn’t just groceries and deli food and coffee and breakfast sandwiches and the things you need to nourish yourself.”

The Hungry Moose has been feeding the community with more than just food for 30 years, and the Kerns intend to keep that going long into the future.

“We will grow to continue to meet the needs of Big Sky, and hopefully help continue to shape the culture of Big Sky to keep this a really special place,” Kelly said.

The Hungry Moose now includes two locations, one in Town Center and one at the base of Big Sky Resort that opened in 2013, and it currently employs 62 people, a number that rises to around 70 in the winter and summer months. The Moose still serves Big Sky 365 days a year.

“I think there’s a great future for the Moose,” Kelly said. “It’s such an amazing history, and there’s a really awesome future. We just want to keep nourishing the community.”