Jenna O’Brien
Building a Business with Passion
In downtown Billings, Jenna O’Brien has created a space for food and family. On the walls of her restaurant, Spitz, vibrant graffiti and massive black-and-white photos tell the story of her and her husband Peter’s life journey and heritage.
The Mediterranean street-food eatery serves up modern versions of wraps, salads, garden bowls, gyros, falafels and pita chips found on the streets of Europe and in cities across America. The restaurant's name is a nod to the classic vertical method of broiling meats.
For Jenna, Spitz isn’t just a restaurant. It’s her passion and a way to feed her entrepreneurial spirit.
"I love working for myself,” she says. “I love building a business."
Born in the Magic City and a graduate of Central High School, Jenna has strong ties to the community. Her father's family has been firmly rooted in the area for generations.
“I have aunts and uncles here,” she says. “My great-grandmother once lived downtown, where the courthouse parking lot now stands."
As you approach the front door of the restaurant on Broadway, you’re met by a unique image on the glass — a hand with an eyeball signaling peace, juxtaposed with an eagle landing on a flying saucer, all drawn in pink. It’s not only playful but conveys a message of good karma.
Everywhere you look, there’s a lighthearted spirit. The bar glitters with bright lights shining on collectibles, including old Montana license plates, a Native American hand drum and a figurine of the character Woody from Toy Story. At the end of the bar, below a collection of acrylic antlers, is a lit display of guitars. The opposite wall holds images of the O’Briens’ children and their niece and nephew, along with a photo of Peter skiing down a snowy slope.
Designer and co-owner Devon Paulson interweaves a music theme while personalizing each Spitz to reflect the owner and the location. Old vinyl records decorate the back patio wall while portrayals of artists like John Prine are depicted on the main wall.
When Jenna was living in Salt Lake City, she was a frequent diner at Spitz in the Sugar House neighborhood.
“I went there all the time,” she says. “I loved the food. I loved the flavors.” She wanted to recreate that “eclectic young fun place that I could go to with my 2-year-old. I can order at the counter. The place needs to be loud enough so my child does not disturb other people. I wanted a good place for those who have a child in tow.”
Spitz is a franchise founded by Bryce Rademan, who grew up in Park City, Utah and later attended Occidental College in Los Angeles to study diplomacy, world affairs and Spanish. His taste for adventure led him to Europe, where he discovered the Turkish doner kebab sold at street stands.
While specifically catering to young families — paper, crayons, toys and games are available — Jenna says the restaurant is also popular with a more mature crowd, especially on performance nights at the Alberta Bair Theater, across the street.
“There are all types of diners,” Jenna says. “There are ladies with lunch dates who eat here monthly. The theater volunteers eat here every show, ordering wings and wine.”
Jenna and Peter may have finally figured out what works in this conveniently located venue. Most recently it was home to the restaurant Perch, and before that, Seva Kitchen. The location was originally owned by Billie Ruff and the Travel Cafe, a travel agency and internet café that had its start in the late 1990s. The earlier pursuits were variably successful. When the new owners wanted to purchase the building, some in the business community had doubts, and they found challenges in raising the funds.
Jenna, with a degree in finance from Montana State University and experience as an accountant, business manager and an oil and gas “landman,” trusted her own fiscal savvy. Having grown up in Billings, she felt she knew this town.
“I crunched all the numbers. That’s what I loved to do,” she says with a laugh. They bought the building because it was “such a great space, so cool.”
The food at Spitz is a modern take on the fresh, healthy Mediterranean food ubiquitous in the streets of Europe. Jenna wants diners to have a different level of experience with each bite. “There’s crunch and crispy from the garbanzo beans and chips,” she says. And attention was spent modifying dishes to vegan without sacrificing flavor. “Vegetarian and vegan should not be an afterthought,” she says.
Everything is made in-house, and drink options include frozen slushies, sangria and draft beers, some of them made locally.
And though not every Spitz has wings, Jenna says, their offerings include fried wings dusted with za’atar and served with Tzatziki Ranch and a choice spicy sauce.
Spitz is open seven days a week. “Peter is day to day working in the kitchen, or in the back of the house. I manage the front of the house and do 25 percent of the ordering,” Jenna says.
The couple has two kids, Jack, 5, and Henry, 8. The two met in Missoula and later moved to Park City, Utah. That’s where Peter was the Freeski Coach for the U.S. Ski Team. He later joined Jenna as a landman for a brief stint, and now sits on the Silver Run Skiing Foundation executive board. The couple came back home in 2019 to begin their journey into opening a restaurant.
“Our youngest is in preschool and our oldest is in day care. My parents help out a lot,” Jenna says, with at least one of them staying until the restaurant closes at 9.
Even with the hard work of managing a restaurant and its staff of 25, Jenna continues to feed her passion for building a business. The couple just opened a second Spitz location in Shiloh Crossing.
“We learn to give each other a lot of grace,” Jenna says. “We don’t have time to be mad at each other. We understand how hard we each work every day.”
YOU CAN FIND SPITZ at 313 N. Broadway downtown or 1001 Shiloh Crossing Boulevard Suite 8 on the city’s West End.
