The Montana Club, a famous Helena bar, dining room and gathering place founded by frontiersmen and shakers in 1885 — four years before Montana became a state — will close its doors after a final toast on March 29.
The club, which also holds a notable place in Black history, has been in financial straits in recent years, leading to bankruptcy in November. (The club is not affiliated with Montana Club restaurant chain.)
Before it reorganized in 2018 as a co-op open to the public, the private club attracted an elite membership that would be at home on the TV series “Yellowstone” — the mining, ranching and timber barons and bankers, politicians and lawyers who all steered the state’s fortunes. these years. (In fact, Cole Hauser, the show’s star, is a descendant of Samuel Hauser, a Montana governor and founder of the club, according to Charles Robison, its current president.)
“For a long time, everybody who made up the state belonged to the Montana Club,” Mr. Robison said.
That said, one of the club’s most important figures was a bartender who made culinary history there a century ago.
Julian Anderson bartended the club for 60 years starting in 1893. He served not only members, but also many famous guests, including Theodore Roosevelt. Mr. Anderson quietly joined the ranks in 1919, becoming only the second black bartender in the United States to publish a cocktail book, titled “Julian’s Recipes.” (The first was Tom Bullock of St. Louis, who wrote “The ideal bartender” in 1917.)
Mr. Anderson’s legacy lives on today. He was one of the inspirations for “Juke Joints, Jazz Clubs and Juice,” the latest work of Toni Tipton-Martin, whose books have chronicled Black contributions to American cuisine.
“When I learned about Julian’s 1919 cookbook, I knew I had to add it to my collection of rare black cookbooks,” Ms. Tipton-Martin wrote in an email. “Like Tom Bullock’s collection, Anderson’s catalog of classic cocktails formalizes a pedigree behind the bar that can inspire the next generation.”
Mr. Anderson, whose parents were slaves, was especially famous for his mint juleps. The mint came from his own backyard. He died in 1962 at the age of 102. His portrait still hangs in the club’s second floor dining room.
The building has four owners. In 2022, three of them filed suit for unpaid assessments and interest against the Original Montana Club Cooperative Association. The association, which manages the dining and events facilities, owns a little more than half of the property — a 1905 building designed by architect Cass Gilbert after the original club burned down. This conflict eventually led to bankruptcy. The building and liquor license is now for sale.
There may yet be hope for the establishment. “Certainly, there are people interested in buying the club as a business and reopening it,” said Mr. Robison, a Montana lawyer and lobbyist who had his wedding rehearsal dinner there. “It is possible that this will not be her last night.”
The March 29 farewell is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. and continue until closing time. Mr. Robison confirmed that mint juleps will be served.
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