Montana Success Story – Big Dipper Ice Cream

Charlie Beaton grew up in Helena, Montana, but learned the craft of ice cream making at an early age while working at Goldsmith’s in Missoula; a since-departed local hot spot for the frozen treat. A few years later (in 1991), he graduated from the University of Montana’s School of Business Administration – and promptly became disinterested in following a career in the ‘traditional’ business world. As he recalls: "I felt like the only thing I really loved and knew how to do well was making ice cream. So I wrote a business plan that would allow me to do that."

That business plan turned into one of Montana’s – and the nation’s – most well-loved ice cream shops, Big Dipper Ice Cream http://www.bigdippericecream.com/ .

Charlie originally started Big Dipper as a wholesale business, selling the uniquely delicious ice creams he created to local restaurants and shops. The business was located in a building on Myrtle Street in Missoula that Charlie shared with good friend Tim O’Leary’s then-fledgling Kettlehouse Brewing Company (another Montana-grown success story that has gone on to win national and international acclaim for its tasty craft beers). Charlie stayed in that location for one year before another friend, Dale Bickell (now Chief Administrative Officer for Missoula County) suggested he start a storefront in order to sell the popular ice creams directly to the public.

In 1996, Dale partnered with Charlie and his wife Barbie to open the first Big Dipper Ice Cream shop on Higgins Avenue in downtown Missoula. Soon, Big Dipper was one of the most beloved ice cream shops in town and the business was growing steadily. By 2003, Big Dipper had secured a Small Business Administration (SBA) loan to buy their Missoula building.

Charlie notes that in the past five or six years, Big Dipper has "really blown up" in terms of business growth and acclaim. In 2010, he sold the first franchise license to entrepreneur Anna Doran who opened a shop on Helena’s walking mall, Last Chance Gulch. The Helena Big Dipper location is now considered one of the primary anchors that attracts locals and tourists year-round to the pedestrian byway at the heart of downtown.

Later that year Charlie also started an ice cream truck business with his long-time Missoula manager, Bryan Hickey. Not surprisingly, the popular artisan ice creams made by Big Dipper were even more popular when they traveled to events around town. In 2012, Big Dipper opened a satellite location in the Adams Center while providing premium ice cream for Grizzly fans and community members as an exclusive vendor at events on the University of Montana campus. Most recently, in 2015 Charlie and Bryan Hickey and Lia Munson, who managed the mobile business in Missoula, opened a Big Dipper Ice Cream shop in Billings, Montana.

Big Dipper has employed more than one hundred Montanans while using Montana dairy products to make nationally celebrated homemade premium ice cream – all while becoming a Montana icon, and a destination for visitors from around the world. As Charlie accurately summarizes, "it’s amazing to us how many people fall in love with the ice cream and the brand – it’s like we remind them of something really great from their childhoods that they can share with their own kids. It’s really special."

Big Dipper’s truly unique flavors and consistent high quality have landed this Montana success story in the pages of USA Today and Food and Wine Magazine as one of the nation’s most-loved ice cream brands. In 2013, the Beaton family was even invited to appear on Good Morning America being featured as one of "Best Ice Cream in America." During the show, the Beaton family beamed into homes across the nation from a ‘mini Big Dipper’ set constructed in Times Square.

This year, as Big Dipper celebrates their 20th anniversary with a series of special events, it’s apparent that Charlie Beaton could easily be running this successful franchise from anywhere in the country. But, Charlie is clear on why he and his family will always choose Montana as their home and business operations base:

"My wife, my kids, and I are all avid outdoors people – and we love being in Montana for that…We’ve been fortunate to travel all over the world in the past several years, and we’ve seen a lot of great places, but we absolutely love living here…You cannot beat Montana communities, and how affordable an amazing life is here."