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mahatmakanejeeves

(61,138 posts)
Fri May 7, 2021, 02:32 PM May 2021

Fire guts iconic Montana bar

I'm thinking 1949 on that Studebaker, but I'm not an expert.

EDITOR'S PICK

Fire guts iconic Montana bar

Montana Standard May 7, 2021 Updated 3 hrs ago

MIKE SMITH, MICHAEL CAST

BUTTE, Mont. — Fire destroyed the iconic M&M Cigar Store in Uptown Butte early Friday morning, taking out the roof and leaving the rest of the building charred and gutted. Nobody was injured but the building was a compete loss. ... Firefighters were called to the bar and grill at 9 North Main St. around 3 a.m. and there were 12-foot flames coming from the roof. It took two hours to get the fire under control and two hours after that, crews were still on the scene.

“There was smoke in every orifice of the building,” said Jim Merrifield, a battalion chief with the Butte-Silver Bow Fire Department. “The fire was on the roof and spread throughout the building through the duct work.”



Firefighters battle the M&M blaze Friday morning.

Michael Cast, The Montana Standard

About 30 firefighters responded and at 6:30 a.m., two were on a ladder truck moving about in a bucket examining the damage. The upper-store windows were blown out and fallen bricks were piled about the sidewalk. ... “It’s a total loss. No question,” Merrifield said. He said he did not know how the fire got started but firefighters would likely remain on the scene for several more hours. ... The M&M is one of Butte’s most historic landmarks, having opened in 1890 by Sam Martin and William Mosby.



M&M, Main Street, early 1950s

It was closed from 2003-2005 and from 2009-2011 after a run of more than a century where the doors never closed. Sam Jankovich purchased the property in 2011 and reopened it in May that year but closed it in October 2014 amid legal and financial troubles.

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Fire guts iconic Montana bar (Original Post) mahatmakanejeeves May 2021 OP
Insurance money is my first bet. ret5hd May 2021 #1
3 a.m. fire sounds suspicious to me. secondwind May 2021 #2
This is so sad. MontanaMama May 2021 #3
I remember this place from the 1970s jmbar2 May 2021 #4
Even if you just knew someone from Butte you may have heard a story about the M&M. Delmette2.0 May 2021 #5

MontanaMama

(24,039 posts)
3. This is so sad.
Fri May 7, 2021, 02:50 PM
May 2021

The M&M Bar is a landmark in Butte, America. Sounds like the fire started in the cigar store and spread from there.

jmbar2

(6,138 posts)
4. I remember this place from the 1970s
Fri May 7, 2021, 02:58 PM
May 2021

It was open all nite and was popular with touring musicians, truckers and other night owls. They had great steaks, but few barstools. So you'd stand in line behind one to get your grub, eat and then move on. A memorable experience.

So sorry it's gone. I loved visiting Butte.

Delmette2.0

(4,264 posts)
5. Even if you just knew someone from Butte you may have heard a story about the M&M.
Sat May 8, 2021, 05:32 AM
May 2021

I'm sorry for the Butte community, I'm sure any replacement will never be the same.

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