Tavern Association chapter forms on the North Shore
The Montana Tavern Association recently tapped a chapter from the North Shore of Flathead Lake, the first new member in over two decades.
Bob Lincoln and his son Bobby, owners of Del’s Bar in Somers, held the first meeting at their establishment on Wednesday, garnering nine members from Bigfork to Lakeside.
“It went really good,” Bob said Thursday. “It was the first time and we’re just getting organized, but it’s a beginning.”
Del’s owners first presented the proposal to the association at the MTA Convention and Trade Show on Sept. 15 in Great Falls. The new chapter doesn’t have a name yet, but Bob is excited to have some representation for the business community in which he takes part. The MTA already has a Flathead County chapter, but Bob said the North Shore area has just a little different flavor from the greater Flathead Valley.
“Kalispell and Whitefish are different from our areas,” Bob said. “I guess you’d say in our area, the smaller towns, we don’t have a single chain in the group. We’re just anxious to have people in our industry getting involved locally and politically too.”
MTA President Jim Johnson, a Kalispell native who owns the Bull ‘N Bear Saloon in his new home of Red Lodge, said he’s excited to see a new chapter from the Flathead.
“I think it’s going to be a wonderful thing for the association and a wonderful thing for the Flathead Valley,” Johnson said. “(Tavern associations) exist for two reasons: to support one another, to have one another’s back, and then the other reason, they raise a lot of money to give to local charities.”
Johnson said fundraising is a pillar of the statewide association, an example of their “good neighbor” mission. Each chapter hosts an annual dinner with a high admission cost and silent auction, and then turns around to provide the proceeds to a need in the industry. Johnson said the Carbon/Stillwater chapter recently had their dinner, with a portion of the funds going toward a bartender who needed a hip replacement. Another chunk of the cash goes toward local food banks and other charities.
“We just try to be good neighbors. That’s an important part of what we do,” Johnson said.
In part, Johnson is excited because this will be the first new chapter in the 22 years he’s been in the tavern industry. In that time, the MTA has stayed on top of legislative issues like gaming and smoking regulations, as well as the quota system that’s been in place for nearly 100 years. Since that time, some contention has developed between the taverns and breweries over the quota system, which allows breweries to operate without paying for a liquor license, which, in some cases, can cost six digits.
The nine members who attended Wednesday’s chapter meeting in Somers included area taverns and breweries. Indeed, breweries have joined existing MTA chapters in the past, but Johnson said seeing a new chapter blooming with both taverns and breweries enthusiastic about working together in the legislative realm is encouraging.
As the new chapter begins to develop and grow, Bob said he’s finding new interests from taverns and breweries reaching down to Woods Bay and Big Arm. The MTA is a few weeks away from unveiling a proposal built by a coalition of distillers, breweries, restaurants, casinos, distributors and taverns, and the North Shore chapter is just in time to join the discussion.
For now, Bob’s just looking forward to tightening the community he loves to bring together.
“We’re going to have a great turnout and be one of the strongest groups in the state,” he said. “And we’ll be more fun.”
Reporter Seaborn Larson may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at slarson@dailyinterlake.com.