Bars, pubs, wineries and casinos ordered closed in Yellowstone County; restaurants limited to delivery and takeout
All bars, brew pubs, wineries and casinos in Yellowstone County have been ordered to close beginning Tuesday morning in order to help stem the spread of the new coronavirus.
John Felton, CEO of RiverStone Health, announced the decision on Monday. He said the closures are scheduled to last one week, but that the timeline could change as officials learn more about how widespread COVID-19 is locally.
Other counties in Montana, such as Butte-Silver Bow, also took the step to close businesses.
The closures do not affect hospital and university cafeterias, or any other facility that serves a population depending on it as a sole source of food, according to the order. The closures are to begin at 8 a.m. Tuesday.
RiverStone Health CEO John Felton talks about the Unified Health Command’s latest responses to COVID-19 on Friday, March 13, 2020.
Felton said the current threat to public health is “truly unprecedented.”
“We have had threats of pandemic disease in the past,” he said. “We can rattle them off: H1N1 influenza, didn’t really come to pass. The SARS, MERS, which were both coronavirus diseases, never got this widespread. This is a worldwide pandemic.”
Felton said officials still don’t have a good sense of how widespread the disease is locally, and that they will know more once the county’s new test site is operational.
That is “at least several days” away, he said. Officials are still working out staffing, equipment needs and other logistics of the testing center, which will be held at the Sandstone building at MetraPark.
While residents will have a diagnostic sample taken locally, all samples will be sent elsewhere to labs for testing. The state health lab in Helena has been returning results within 24-36 hours, Felton said. Two private labs doing the testing through federal contracts have had a slower turnaround of between three and seven days, Felton said.
A doctor’s order is required before someone can be tested for the disease. There are limited testing kits available. Samples will be taken through a nasopharyngeal swab, which swabs the back of the nose and upper throat.
Felton said new guidance from the White House is now instructing public health officials to try to limit public gatherings to 10 people.
Just a day earlier, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended the cancellation or postponement of gatherings of 50 people or more.
The stricter guidance was one factor playing into Felton’s decision to close businesses, he said.
The economic impact of closing restaurants, bars and casinos in Yellowstone County will be significant, but the exact effects were unknown as of Monday.
Nonresident spending at restaurants and bars was $48 million in 2018, according to a study performed by the University of Montana’s Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research, the most recent data on record.
John Brewer, president of the Billings Chamber of Commerce, said doubling that $48 million figure will give a good picture of what both residents and nonresidents spend on eating and drinking out in Yellowstone County annually.
How the mandated closure of restaurants, bars and casinos will translate to the short-term economic impact on the city Brewer isn’t sure.
“This is uncharted territory that we’re all trying to figure out,” he said.
Exact data on how much of the county’s economic pie is made up by restaurants, bars and casinos is hard to aggregate as Montana has no sales tax, the mechanism by which economic data of this type is usually tracked.
The chamber just sent a survey to its members asking them to rate how well and for how long they could weather a closure. Brewer expected smaller businesses would be most vulnerable.
“I’m personally very concerned about these businesses and the people they employ,” he said.
Hooligans Sports Bar and the Montana Brew Pub employ 96 people. A manager at Hooligans said they were shocked by the announcement but that they support the community and efforts to control the spread of COVID-19.
Nine of the 96 employees of Hooligan’s and the Montana Brew Pub gather for a picture after the announcement that all bars and casinos will close and restaurants will be limited to takeout due to the coronavirus outbreak. The bar is decorated for its popular St. Patrick’s Day event.
The Produce Depot, a relatively new business downtown, decided over the weekend to close and offer pickup and delivery services for its customers. The produce store, open three days a week, often had lines of customers out the door.
Casey Anderson, one of the Depot’s owners, hopes to bundle other products from downtown and area businesses with his produce delivery as an effort to help other businesses stay afloat for the next month or so.
“We’re hoping this could be a way for us to continue to offer fresh and healthy options,” he said. “I’m trying to contact all these local businesses.”
The chamber also will be working to find the best ways to help and support vulnerable businesses while residents stay home and shops and restaurants are closed.
“Their success directly correlates to the overall success of the community,” Brewer said.
While some cities are ordering gyms and movie theaters to close, Felton declined to do so in Yellowstone County. Felton said that most gyms had already canceled their exercise classes, and that people should be able to maintain a safe distance from the next person while using free weights or machines.
Similarly, he said, movie theaters have enough seating that people could likely stay 6 feet or more away from each other. That distance is recommended by the CDC under its social distancing policy.
Felton said he was aware that ordering businesses to close would receive pushback, and that business owners, workers and others would be hurt financially. Decisions on staffing, ordering supplies and what to do with perishable goods were all complicated by the closures, and Felton said he did not make the decision in haste.
Still, he said, the move was necessary.
“It is no longer an academic exercise,” he said. “It is no longer sort of a preparedness exercise. This is the real deal.”
Retrospective: Closed Billings bars
The Club
The Club was located at 131 Moore Lane, in a neighborhood known more for industrial shops and recreational supply businesses than bars. The site was formerly home to another bar, The Cockpit. The Club was described in a 1993 Gazette story about a lawsuit over a 1989 shooting at the bar as being “known as a hangout for Samoans in Billings.” It closed not long after the incident.
KoKo Bar
In a space that has been home to numerous bars over the years, the Koko Club opened at 1223 Grand Ave. in 1961. The Koko Club remained in business there until it was replaced by Dudley’s Sports Bar.
Dudley’s
Dudley’s Sports Bar opened in the former KoKo Club location on Grand Avenue in the early 1980s. The bar was known to host events that were beyond what most bar patrons might be used to, including Super Bowl pig roasts and indoor beach volleyball. Dudley’s closed in the early 1990s, and was replaced by Magoo’s. The building that housed Magoo’s, as well as the well known Pork Chop John’s restaurant, was demolished in the early 2000’s, making way for Santa Fe Red’s and later Beef O’Brady’s. Guadalajara has since moved into that building.
Dudley’s
The building that Dudley’s occupied was formerly home to another Billings bar, Archer’s Beer Depot.
Arcade Bar
The Arcade Bar became one of Billings’ most notorious drinking establishments over its lifespan at the intersection of South 27th Street and Minnesota Avenue. The bar first opened at 2702 Minnesota Ave., in what is believed to be Billings’ oldest building. Prohibition forced the bar to close, but it reopened in the 1940s. Above, a Billings firefighter washes blood from the sidewalk outside of the Arcade Bar in May of 1990, at its final location in the L&L Building.
Arcade Bar
On February 22, 1972, a fire burned out much of the Arcade Bar. Soon after, the bar was moved across the street into the old Southern Hotel at 15 S. 27th St. By that time, the former China Alley area had once again become known for prostitution, drug deals and other criminal activity, and the bar was a popular meeting place for rougher patrons. The old bar at 2702 Minnesota Ave. was refurbished and became the Arcade News, an adult book store.
Arcade Bar
After the Montana Bar inside the L&L Building at 2624 Minnesota Ave. closed in the late 1970s, the Arcade Bar made the move next door to occupy the space. The bar remained notorious for its fights until its closure in 1994. The L&L Building sat empty for more than a decade, but eventually was remodeled for use as a Subway restaurant. It was later home to Mel’s Lunchbox, which has since closed.
Heidelberg Bar
According to paperwork registering the Acme Hotel Building with the National Register of Historic Places, the Heidelberg Bar was one of the longest operating bars in a single location when it closed in the early 1980s. Opened in the 1930s and tucked between the F.W. Woolworth store and a furrier, it was a popular downtown drinking establishment for people of all economic statuses.
Heidelberg Bar
After the Heidelberg closed, the space at 109 N. Broadway became home to Casey’s Golden Pheasant after Casey’s moved from Minnesota Avenue. Casey’s moved up Broadway a few years later, and the space became home to different restaurants before Barley’s Casino moved in. Barley’s and Hooligans Sports Bar now occupy the old Heidelberg space today.
Al’s Tavern
Much like the legendary Arcade Bar, Al’s Tavern was well known for being a “tough guy” bar, with frequent barroom fights and stabbings. According to Jack McKee, who bought Al’s shortly before closing it, the South Side tavern originally opened in a former mattress factory along Minnesota Avenue in the 1940s, but within a decade was moved to 3016 Ninth Ave. S.
Al’s Tavern
According to South Side residents who lived nearby, Al’s was not always such a rough establishment. After its move from downtown, the bar became a neighborhood hangout where teens and adults could meet friends in a safe and comfortable environment. But over the years, the area became known for a number of stabbings, fights and shootings, as well as a hot spot for drug deals. Al’s closed in 2001, and the bar was demolished in 2003 to make room for housing.
Silver Dollar Inn
Though its history was perhaps not as colorful as the Arcade Bar two blocks away, the Silver Dollar Inn undoubtedly served many of the same patrons from its bar at the corner of South 29th Street and Minnesota Avenue. The Silver Dollar Inn opened in the 1930s in the former home of Shaffer’s South Side Market. The bar and card room remained in business until the 1980s. Today, the building houses Montana Rescue Mission offices.
Clyde’s Tavern
One of a small number of bars that served the Heights in the 1960s and 1970s, Clyde’s Tavern was located at 251 E. Main St. The bar, named for owner Clyde Kuether, often provided live music. The bar closed in 1977, and the address is now used by Smoker Friendly, a national tobacco store chain.
Wheel Inn
Another South Side bar that experienced ups and downs was the Wheel Inn at 3510 Seventh Ave. S. The bar began as a simple neighborhood tavern, but eventually became a topless bar, attracting rowdier clientele. When Terry McKay purchased the bar and its liquor license in the late 1980s, he did away with the topless dancers in hopes of changing the bar’s notoriety. When the state Department of Transportation drew plans to widen State Avenue, the Wheel Inn became the center of a dispute over compensation for the loss of parking and business that the bar expected to incur. Eventually, the bar was demolished and the street was widened. Today, a vacant lot sits between the corner of South 35th Street and State Avenue and the cul-de-sac that was formed at the end of Seventh Avenue South when the State Avenue project was completed.
Casey’s Golden Pheasant
Though recent residents will remember Casey’s as a place known for its live entertainment and Cajun food, it had a very different reputation in its earlier days. Opened by Casey Collett at 2622 Minnesota Avenue, Casey’s Golden Pheasant was located in an area known for rough types. Shortly after opening, Casey’s was outfitted with the 1905 mahogany bar back that had adorned the short-lived Sylvan Lounge two blocks away. As the years wore on, Casey’s became associated with some of the same seedy activity as other Minnesota Avenue taverns.
Casey’s Golden Pheasant
After moving north of the tracks and changing owners, Casey’s image began to change. The Minnesota Avenue building that housed the original bar was demolished in the early 1980s. Casey’s reopened first on North 26th Street, where Don Luis is found today, and shortly thereafter moved to 109 N. Broadway, where the Heidelberg Bar once operated. Casey’s finally moved to 222 N. Broadway, most recently home to Stampede Country Sports Bar, before closing in 2006.
Sonny O’Day’s
The only bar outside of Billings on this list is one of the most legendary in Yellowstone County. The Sonny O’Day Bar & Lounge, owned by renowned boxer Sonny O’Day, was a world famous Laurel establishment. O’Day opened the famous club after returning from service in World War II, and remained involved until his death in 2001. The bar still stands, but was closed in the 2000s.
Archer’s Beer Depot
Archer’s Beer Depot was opened by Ermal Archer in 1957 at 1223 Grand Ave., next to what was then Floyd’s Barber Shop. The bar and liquor store became known as a meeting place for local college students, and soon outgrew its tiny space. Archer’s son, Bud, took over management, and by the 1970s moved the business down the street to a new building at 1918 Grand Ave. The name was changed to Archer’s Casino, and remained in business until Bud Archer retired to care for his ailing wife. Today, the uniquely shaped building is home to Rio Grand Casino.
Gramma’s
One of the few West End bars in this list, Gramma’s first opened in 1967 at 1310 15th St. W. In 1973, the bar moved south of Mountview Cemetery, to 145 Regal St. Gramma’s featured a large screen for viewing sporting events, as well as a number of video games and frequent live music. After 22 years, Gramma’s closed in 1989. The original location on 15th Street West is now home to the Gold Dust Casino, while the Regal Street location became home to Woody’s Sports Pub, the Heartbreak Cafe and Desperados. A commercial building sits there now.
More Minnesota Avenue bars
Minnesota Avenue was home to a number of Billings drinking establishments since around the time the town was founded. Sam Lee, a Chinese Immigrant, ran a liquor store and restaurant that served libations in the late 1890s and early 1900s. The strip dried up during prohibition, but soon after became home again to bars, clubs and gambling houses. In addition to the aforementioned Arcade Bar, Montana Bar, Silver Dollar Inn and Casey’s Golden Pheasant, the street was lit by the neon from the Standard Bar (2706 Minnesota Ave., closed 1975, now boarded up), the Western (2712 Minnesota Ave., closed 2014, currently vacant) and the Oasis (2718 Minnesota Ave., most recently Jimmy’s Tattoo Oasis), among many others.