Dirk Ellis estimates that he's given three or four tours a day of his Strawhouse Market since opening the doors two-plus weeks ago.Inside, the building features ground source heat pump technology for heating and cooling, with close to two dozen closed wells drilled more than 200 feet into the ground to take advantage of the earth's year-round 52-degree temperature.
Dirk Ellis estimates that he's given three or four tours a day of his Strawhouse Market since opening the doors on Roadrunner Drive on the city's north side two-plus weeks ago.
It's not so much the store's inventory -- shelves of organic produce, natural foods and supplements along with a customer seating area for fresh wraps, smoothies, coffee and more -- that draws most of the interest. Rather, it's the building itself, with a number of environmentally friendly construction techniques and systems unique to Helena.
For starters, there's the Strawhouse part. It's more than just a name - the building's 24-inch-thick post-and-beam walls are insulated with more than a thousand straw bales, custom made by a Manhattan rancher. Then there are the solar panels that run the length of the south-facing building, simultaneously generating electricity (12.7 kilowatts at peak capacity) and shading the building from the bright afternoon sun to help keep the building cool.
"It's designed so the solar will cover 60 percent of our total power needs on an annual basis," Ellis said, noting that excess electricity is sold back to the power company.
He estimates that the system should pay for itself within 10 years and produce significant savings after that. Most of the parking area is grass, to reduce the "heat island" effect in the summer. Xeriscaping makes up much of the landscaping, so heavy sprinkling isn't required. And underground there's a 17,000-gallon collection tank to recycle rainwater and snowmelt for landscape watering.
Inside, the building features ground source heat pump technology for heating and cooling, with close to two dozen closed wells drilled more than 200 feet into the ground to take advantage of the earth's year-round 52-degree temperature.
Floor-level windows on the south side are designed to allow the low winter sun to reach the darkly painted cement floor, helping heat the building on Helena's bright but bitter winter days. Ellis, a former commercial airline pilot, has been developing the project for years and served as his own general contractor. He enlisted help from all corners of the country in designing and outfitting the building.
A New Mexico firm helped with environmental architectural enhancements, a Colorado company provided structural engineering services, and the bamboo that makes up much of the countertops and furniture was imported through San Francisco. Locally, CWG Architects worked closely with Ellis on the design.
"This 'green architecture,' it's like going out to the cutting edge and falling off the other side," said CWG architect Tony Perpignano. "There was nothing to look at as a precedent, and that was one of the hard things. A lot of these systems on their own would be tough, but when we got to integrating them, it became a real challenge."
Perpignano said the design changed several times from drawing board to completion, not only to accommodate all the energy-saving systems, but to make it all fit on a smallish lot and still meet requirements for parking, sidewalks and setbacks. He said it was rewarding to see people stop and watch as the building was being built.
"It's nice from the standpoint of knowing that we tried something different, and for the most part, it worked," he said.
The building may be state-of-the-art, but whether or not people consistently buy from its shelves will determine whether the Strawhouse is a success.
Ellis said he ran the numbers many different ways before entering the growing market for natural foods and supplements. He's in competition not only with the downtown Real Food Store, a Helena institution, but with the growing natural food sections in the major chain supermarkets.
"We're trying to supplement the market, and we're here for this end of town," Ellis said."I think we give more validity to the whole market as well."
Ellis says the Strawhouse is a "natural food store, not a health food store," with more focus on groceries than nutritional supplements, although there's plenty of shelf space devoted to each. There's also substantial room for customers to sit, both downstairs, in a cool, dark space with a fireplace, and upstairs, in a more open, airy setting. Chef Kurt Anderson came on board from the Montana Club, and Ellis hopes to expand the business to provide natural foods for restaurants in addition to consumers. A coffee roaster will soon occupy a spot upstairs.
Ellis said that he's been pleased with the eat-in traffic so far. "We're getting more lunch business now than I expected," he said. "But the purpose of having a nice kitchen and coffee area is to get people into the store that maybe wouldn't shop here otherwise."
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Source: Knight Riddder/Tribune Business News
