Hellroaring Saloon gets new lease on life

Though half a decade ago plans were in place to move Hellroaring Saloon to a new location, a series of changes plus public outcry against its disappearance have led to a scenario in which the Whitefish Mountain Resort fixture can stay in place for at least the next 35 years.

The resort is in the process of turning the Hellroaring building over to the saloon’s current owners — Pat LaTourelle, Bob Riso and Riso’s son, Luke. The land itself will be leased to the Hellroaring for at least 35 years in the first transaction of its kind on the Big Mountain.

The stipulation is that the facility be renovated to meet the design review standards of the mountain, Whitefish Mountain Resort president Dan Graves said. The Hellroaring is housed in the historic Big Mountain Chalet, which was built in 1949.

“It has quite a bit of historical value, but it wasn’t necessarily built with today’s building standards,” Graves said. “The foundation was rickety, the structure didn’t have the greatest insulation, the floors and walls are out of plumb after years of settling.”

 Chair 2 on the mountain was at one time going to be rerouted to a spot that was going to force the demolition of the chalet. That plan changed, however, and Chair 2 was moved in 2007 to a spot that did not conflict with the chalet location.

LaTourelle’s late husband, Jon Bos, opened the Hellroaring in 1975 in Whitefish before moving the saloon and restaurant to the mountain in 1981. LaTourelle had sold the Hellroaring to Sean and Kari Saadi after her husband died in 2002.

The current owners purchased the business in 2006 after finding out the Saadis were thinking about not opening the restaurant that year.

The trio of owners have been chipping away at improvements to the chalet since starting concrete work in summer 2011. Last summer, they did foundation work and created a new entryway.

“Slowly but surely we’re trying to sustain the funky old historical part of the building, but give it structural improvements,” LaTourelle said. “They [the resort] were not willing to put money into the building, but we were willing. To get the money, we needed an asset and a lease for the land. This ended up being a new creative way for the mountain to run its business.”