Pishkun
/pi-shkuhn/ · noun
Blackfoot for buffalo jump.
“…a place that provides sustenance now and for the coming seasons.”
From the sign inside our store
Our story
Where it began
A rancher who wanted better food, closer to home.
Pishkun was founded by Chris Bechtold, who spent 25 years raising organic cattle and bison. He knew what good food takes to grow, and how far most of it travels before it reaches a Montana table.
“I feel that it's really important that we try to make things close to home and use things that are made close to home.”
So he went looking. Working through USDA producer listings, he found bakers, beekeepers, ranchers and families across Montana, and brought their food together on one set of shelves in Choteau.
That left the question of who would run the till. The answer was no one.
“It solved the problem for me. And I thought it might solve the problem for everybody else, too.”
Quotes from Chris Bechtold's interview with KRTV News.
What we believe
Three things we hold to.
Good food doesn't need chemicals.
We look for food grown and made the clean way, with organic choices throughout the store.
It doesn't need to travel far.
Wherever we can, it comes from Montana, and the shelf tag tells you exactly where.
People are good.
The whole store runs on the honour system. It worked when we opened, and it works today.
Our mark
Every part of it means something.
- The bison at the jump
The pishkun itself: the cliff where, for generations, the buffalo provided for the people of this land.
- The mountains and the sun
The Rocky Mountain Front on Choteau's western horizon, and the land our producers farm and ranch.
- The full tote
Bread, produce and pantry staples: provisions for the week, from close to home.