New owner of iconic Two Medicine Grill in East Glacier Park a familiar face

Five months into owning a restaurant and Matt Lyson is going to do just fine. Lyson bought the Two Medicine Grill in East Glacier Park last fall from longtime owner Mark Howser.

Lyson is no stranger to the highly regarded eatery on Highway 2. This will be his 18th summer as its lead cook, and owning the restaurant, aside from a bit more paperwork and duties, is much like the job he had before. He still spends his days behind the grill, cooking up standard, and delicious diner fare that draws tourists and  steady stream of locals alike.

Lyson explained he was going to buy the restaurant a few years ago, but the pandemic hit. That was no time to be buying a restaurant, so after the Covid-19 scourge passed, Howser leased it to Lyson for a few years, so he could build up the business and the books to satisfy the banks.

Lyson has been working in kitchens since his days of going to high school in Missoula. He worked in the cafeteria in high school, then at a Perkins Restaurant, where he was already in a managerial role in his teens.

His mother’s maiden name is Kuchta, he said. Which roughly translated means “kitchen slave,” he said with a broad smile.

Not too many slaves have the view out the front window of their work that Lyson has — the high peaks of Glacier National Park are in plain view.

He says a typical day for himself and three employees starts out at dawn and ends mid afternoon. The restaurant opens at 6:30 a.m. and closes at 2:30 p.m.

On most days, he can still get a run after work, or go for a hike. The Two Medicine region of Glacier National Park is literally up the road.

Of course it’s slower this time of year, but the rush is coming.

In the summers, it’s different.

“It’s kind of like a line out the door from the time you open to the time you close,” he said.

The food is good diner food, breakfast and lunch. Nothing fancy. On this day locals come and go, picking up to-go orders. Everyone knows everyone else’s name, An older fellow sits down, has some soup, offers to pay. It was the last of pot, so it’s on the house, he’s told.

Lyson said Howser worked really hard to make sure the menu was food that tasted good and was reasonably priced.

“I want to keep that alive,” Lyson said.

There’s plenty of history here. The Grill only seats 28. It’s what’s known as a Valentine Diner. Crafted in Kansas after the Great Depression, they were a prefabricated lunch counter so a person could open up and run a restaurant quickly and efficiently. The counter has seen plenty of elbows over the years. 

There have been days when Lyson has been a one-man gang in the winter months, when someone can’t make it, or is sick. He has a few tricks. One is to turn the grill down low so food still cooks but doesn’t burn while he’s taking orders.

It works out.

But it’s also been a bit surreal. He went over to Costco in Kalispell not too long ago. Bought 400 eggs.

“You must own a business,” the cashier said.

Lyson thought a second.

“I guess I do,” he said with a smile.