The Allen family wants to give away their restaurant in Montana.

Patterned after the movie “The Spitfire Grill,” they are holding an essay contest with their restaurant as a prize.

Allen said he checked everything out with his lawyer, Jeff Kelley of Idaho, to make sure the contest would be legal.

The contest has an entry fee of $50 for students and $100 for other people. In that way, the family will still get some money for their restaurant, but still give it to someone who could not normally afford to buy it, owner Shawn Allen said.

“When we decided to sell our restaurant, we thought about how wonderful it would be to be able to give it away to someone who really deserves it,” Allen said. “What I don’t want is someone to win it who’s already set in life.”

Allen said he and his brother decided to sell the restaurant about three weeks ago for a “change of pace.”

The contest is only being advertised in college newspapers because they would prefer to give the restaurant to a college student, Allen said, although they did not want to exclude everyone else.

They have since contacted about 40 college newspapers and plan to contact many more. Allen said the first article about the contest was published last week and they have already gotten their first couple of entries.

The first one came from a student in New York, he said.

“I think the thing I’m most excited for is the day I actually get to give it to somebody,” Allen said.

The restaurant, Bad Bubba’s BBQ and Grill, is located in Bitterroot Valley in Montana, surrounded by mountains and wildlife.

Allen said it is a beautiful area and a successful restaurant.

“They seem to do well,” said Pat Easley, office manager for Bitterroot Chamber of Commerce.

She said the restaurant has been around for a while, although it has changed owners and locations.

In the past three years, Allen said, the restaurant has grossed $300,000 to $400,000 per year.

Along with the restaurant, Allen said, the winner will receive all equipment and the inventory on hand at the time of closing. The winner also will receive a two- to three-week training period.

Entrants should submit a 500- word or less essay stating why they think they should win the restaurant. Essays will be judged on content only.

The top five essays will be chosen by a panel of five judges and then displayed publicly for two weeks. The winning essay will be chosen by public vote.

Allen said he already has three of the judges picked, who are local business owners.

Once the top five essays are selected, Allen said he plans to run an article in the town paper, asking people to come to the restaurant and vote on the winner. He said they may provide inexpensive lunches that day to make it fun for the community.

The winning entrant will be notified by mail and by phone if a number is available.

People must be at least 18 years old to enter.

Entries should include a self-addressed, stamped envelope and the entry fee should be paid either by money order or cashier’s check made out to Saddle Sore LLC.

Entries must be mailed by Feb. 28 to Essay Contest, c/o Saddle Sore Limited Liability Co.; 522 Hwy. 93 North #1; Hamilton, Mont., 59840.

Interested people can also write to that address for a list of contest rules.

If fewer than 3,000 entries are submitted by Feb. 28, the owner may cancel the contest and return all entry fees to participants.