By Brandon Walker EBS COMMUNITY EDITOR
BIG
SKY – Owners of Copper, the popular Bozeman-based restaurant and bar, have
officially opened their doors for business in Big Sky Town Center. Located
inside the Wilson Hotel lobby, Copper held a steady stream of soft-open events
leading up to the grand opening that took place Feb. 21.
Owners
kicked things off with a soft opening on Feb. 7 and the official opening on
Feb. 11, before the grand opening.
The
interior of the Copper location in Big Sky welcomes patrons into a warmly lit
space with an abundance of natural light from the large exterior windows. The
restaurant is complete with a fireplace, accompanied by dark walls and ample
seating throughout the bar and floor area.
Casey
Durham, who founded both locations, is a Bozeman native thrilled about the
opportunity to set up shop in Big Sky.
When
asked in a phone interview with EBS, Durhamn described what he is most excited
for with the opening of the Big Sky location: “Probably just the growth and
seeing how this location does. The hardest part about Big Sky, somewhat, is you
just don’t know how fast Town Center is going to grow around you,” said Durham,
“Obviously, the Town Center is still fairly new, but we do have a lot of
confidence in our brand and being accepted in the community.”
Durham
manages Copper with the assistance of hospitality group Ok Cool, which has
played a large role in the successful launch of the second location, Durham
said.
The
original Copper location in Bozeman opened six years ago and isn’t the only bar
and restaurant venture that Durham has taken on over the years. Aside from the
original Copper, he also had a hand in founding Bozeman’s Kitty Warren and El
Camino bars.
Durham
attended Montana State University where he studied marketing and added a minor
in entrepreneurship. Initially, he wasn’t headed down a career path in the bar
and restaurant industry, instead beginning in real estate.
“Real
estate development and restaurants kind of go hand in hand somewhat, because
you’re always looking for restauranteurs to lease your space,” Durham said. “I
was always putting together opportunities and deals through real estate and [and]
my focus is now more a restauranteur than it is a real estate developer.”
Similar
to its founder, Copper has started down a new path as well. Durham explained
that when it was founded the intent was for Copper to be mainly a bar, but over
time the food has gained popularity.
“It
just started as us trying to create a really cool niche for ourselves in more
of a bar concept,” he said. “But like I said our food has really started to
take off over the last three [or] four years from when we first opened.”
Durham
and Ok Cool have made it a point to keep the theme and menu as consistent as
possible between the two locations, although Durham did note that there are
more steak options at the new Big Sky location. Depending on the interest
within Big Sky Town Center, Durham mentioned the possibility of another Copper
opening in Big Sky in the future.