Pelz Dumpling started at the Missoula farmers market in the summer of 2023, when Linzie Norman began selling Russian dumplings inspired by a tiny pelmeni shop in Juneau, Alaska. The market loved them, but hand-wrapping hundreds of dumplings every week was never going to scale.
Determined to grow, Linzie turned to Mission West and the Mission Mountain Food Enterprise Center. Over the past year she applied for and received a Growth Through Agriculture grant, which let her buy a high-volume pelmeni machine. Housed at MMFEC, that one piece of equipment made expansion possible. She could finally keep up with demand and experiment with new flavors, all while keeping her focus on local Montana ingredients.
The support did not stop at the grant. Using MMFEC’s production and storage facilities gave Linzie a place to install her machine, test recipes, and connect with a network of other food entrepreneurs. Today Pelz Dumpling supplies local retailers and still shows up at farmers markets, serving pelmeni the way they do in Juneau, with butter, curry powder, vinegar, cilantro, sriracha, sour cream, and a slice of rye bread.
Linzie’s story is proof that with determination, local resources, and a strong community behind you, big things can grow from humble beginnings.