Missoula, Montana’s Out to Lunch celebrates 25 years of food, music

Early on Wednesday afternoon, Pat Simmons sat at a picnic table in Caras Park, her beaming smile reflecting the brilliant summer sun as she reflected on a quarter century of change and tradition in downtown Missoula.

"Twenty-five years ago, downtown was really struggling," said Simmons, who in the late 1980s served as the executive director – and sole staff member – of the Missoula Downtown Association. "Southgate Mall was new, and people were worried about what it would do to the downtown retailers; and the economy wasn’t really great in the first place. So there was a lot of worry about the future."

By JOE NICKELL of the Missoulian

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