Mr. Burritos to open 24/7 at former Slim Chickens site in Helena

A long-vacant drive-thru on Prospect Avenue is headed for a 24-hour restart, giving Helena a new restaurant tenant at 1450 Prospect Ave. and another sign that the corridor near Interstate 15 still draws business.

Mr. Burritos plans to open in August in the former Slim Chickens building, owner Mario Rodriguez said, with a menu built around breakfast burritos served all day, tacos, enchiladas, fajitas, burritos and quesadillas. Rodriguez said the Helena location will operate around the clock and is currently hiring, with staffing needs likely in the 10 to 15 employee range.

The move turns the property from a vacant fast-food site into a full-service operation with a broader pitch than a simple replacement tenant. Mr. Burritos has been expanding from a business that began in 2020 as a food truck and has since grown to four unique locations. Its Bozeman presence includes a Main Street location advertised as open 24 hours, a clue to how the Helena store is being positioned: not as a lunch-only stop, but as an all-day and all-night draw for workers, travelers and late-night customers.

That kind of use matters on Prospect Avenue, where restaurant vacancies can ripple through nearby retail. A commercial listing described 1450 Prospect Ave. as a fully equipped, drive-thru restaurant in one of Helena’s most active and accessible corridors, near Interstate 15 and close to retailers, hotels, health care facilities, educational institutions and the Opportunity Bank Conference Center. For operators willing to take on a site with an existing drive-thru and built-in traffic, the location offers a ready-made base that can shorten the path to opening.

The new lease-up also closes a chapter for Slim Chickens, which opened at the Helena site in December 2020 and was Montana’s only Slim Chickens location. It shut down permanently on Sept. 24, 2025, after less than five years on Prospect Avenue. With Mr. Burritos now moving into the space, the property is shifting from a short-lived chain outpost to a locally branded concept that is betting on broader demand and a more durable customer base in Helena’s west-side commercial strip.