Gary's Local Burgers — Restaurant in Missoula

Close your eyes and dream with me for a moment. It’s the first warm night of spring and you can feel the energy of life blossoming in the air. Missoula is buzzin’ and you’re ready to awake from your hibernation. You and your best friends decide to grab a beer down town and one turns to two, to three. The vibe is infectious as the whole town is joyous with anticipation for summer. After finishing off the last crisp PBR you look to your friends and exclaim, “A hunger grows inside of me, that only a greasy burger can tame!”. Your friends node their heads in agreement and you begin the process of deciding where to eat? When suddenly a Phoenix appears before you and screeches, “Go to Gary’s and fulfill the prophecy, eat the burger and transcend the hunger barrier!”. Quickly you rally your friends and rush to Gary’s knowing the fate of the world rest in your hands. Upon arrival a cool wave of tranquility washes over the friend group. Your greeted with the amorphous reflections of your peers shinning off the aluminum vessel that is the burger stand. Anticipation grows as the smells drift and then linger in your nostrils. Caramelized onions, charred meat, and a sweetness that can only come from a real shake. As you approach the window your consciousness behinds to leave your body and you’re realize you’re hovering over yourself watching as you order. “Two cheeseburgers please with sauce”. Little did you know this moment would change your life forever. Before you have a moment to think a perfectly crisp white bag sits before you on the counter with your hot burgers awaiting you inside. You take the bag and go and sit on the curb and reach inside. Out you pull the most perfectly created burger you’ve ever felt. A hot bun greets your fingers is soft and tacky later you would learn it’s potato bun made from the Butt cheeks of angels. You pull the burger from the bag to reveal the Master piece. Smushed together with hints of onions and cheese poking out from the sides, accompanied by bits of crispy burnt burger ends. In this moment your consciousness returns to your body as it to realizes it does not want to just observe this experience but feel and taste it. You open your mouth and bite down into the burger a slow doughy slide through the bun, to a moment of pressure as you break through the onions and then the burger. Meanwhile the cheese begins to melt in your mouth as the bites continue. All the wild the secret sauce a tangy and tart mix with hints of ketchup, pickles, and mayo cuts through to balance the entire mixture. Your sprit shakes with excitement as you realize you have just bitten into one of the best burgers life has to offer. Before you know it you’ve reached you last bite and a satisfaction you have never know radiates from your stomach. You have completed the prophecy. The world will continue on. Your life has forever changed. That is what it’s like to...

From Hometown Favorite to Greedy Letdown

Look, I’ll give credit where it’s due: the burgers here are good. Not life-changing, not award-winning—just solid, satisfying burgers. But let’s not pretend they’re anything more than what they are: average-sized, over-onioned, and now wildly overpriced.

This place used to be a local gem—now it’s just another greedy business milking its regulars for every cent. A basic burger—normal-sized, nothing special—just jumped from $6 to nearly $7. For what? The same patty smothered in enough onions to fumigate a house?

This isn't L.A. or New York. It's a small-town burger joint charging big-city prices for the same onion-loaded sandwich we’ve always gotten.

There’s been zero improvement. No better ingredients, no bigger portions—just a quiet price hike wrapped in a toasted bun and served with a smug grin. It's insulting, really. You're not elevating your food—you’re exploiting your loyal customers.

We supported you when you were humble and honest. Now you're just banking on blind loyalty and hoping we won’t notice the blatant price creep. But we did. And some of us are done.

Enjoy your extra dollar. It’s costing you way more in trust.

Also, so it's all because of "beef prices," huh? Interesting timing—raising your prices just as you open a third location at the university, where I’m sure rent is a steal (insert eye roll). Let’s be real: this isn’t about local beef. It’s about covering your shiny new overhead and expecting your regular customers to foot the bill. Just say you raised prices because expanding isn’t cheap—don’t try to dress it up like it’s out of...

I spent the weekend in Missoula and being a food vender myself, I love taking on foods offered by local trucks, trailers and carts.

First I have to say, I really enjoyed my time in line while listening to the guy at the window (Joey?). He had amazing timing on his jokes and had people laughing, gasping and smiling. I spent 20 minutes after I ate just to watch how he interacted with people and he is genius! The burger only took minutes to finish. I got the regular $6 with no cheese although I got the grilled onions. I didn't want the 'Toddler Burger' anyways! It was delicious and I forgot to get a photo of it because I took a bite, then another and by the time I thought about it, there was an empty paper and an unused Special sauce. I asked Joey (and Noah the cook and straight man in this comedy act) where I could get different street food and was directed to a couple other places. I wandered around for about an hour and headed back to get a second burger. This one I mentioned that I don't need the sauce since I still had the other in my pocket. I ordered the Campfire cone and even though it wasn't as big as I had hoped, it was very good. I stuck around for a bit longer and even had a sit down with Joey when is was a bit slow. During this time, I met one of the owners (Tom) as he and Blake (the other owner) were heading out. I learned of their other trailer and possibly a third coming in the future. I would recommend for sure. I had another burger the next day for lunch and headed to the second trailer for...