After 58 years in the family, Finberg sells Columbia Bar to Ruis

It’s the end of the an era in Columbia Falls as local developer Mick Ruis has formally purchased the Columbia Bar on Nucleus Avenue from longtime owner Cary Finberg.

The bar has been in the Finberg family since his father Math and mother Norma bought it in 1965.

The building itself, however, is almost 100 years old.

Finberg said he hadn’t intended on selling the bar, but the opportunity with Ruis arose and the building needs a lot of work.

“I equate it to a favorite car with a lot of miles … nickel and diming you,” he said, adding, “obviously it wasn’t an easy decision.”

Finberg said he either had to invest heavily into the bar and work paying off a loan for another 20 years, or sell it. His children, Ciera and Cydney, who both teach at the Columbia Falls High School, weren’t interested in running it.

“Obviously a lot of good memories and history here,” Finberg said.

He said he’ll stay on running the bar until the state liquor license and other paperwork is finalized.

Ruis owns the buildings across the street and adjacent to the bar and just opened a new steakhouse, Monaco, on Nucleus Avenue in the past few weeks.

The Columbia is one of the oldest buildings left on Nucleus. It dates back to the 1920s. It wasn’t always a bar, at one time it was a dance hall and Chinese Restaurant.

Pete Darling, a former longtime resident of Columbia Falls, recalled the owner, Mar Yu, throwing pennies to kids into the streets from the restaurant during the Great Depression.

Math and Norma ran the bar until 1990 when Finberg graduated from Montana Western University. He initially wanted to teach and coach, but the idea of running the family business appealed to him, so he started to manage the bar, working with his parents, eventually taking over ownership.

The bar was a true family-run business. Cary recalled his late brother Craig worked there, along with his sister Cathy, niece Cami, nephew Christopher and his daughter Cydney all worked there as well.

A lot has changed since ’65, Cary noted.

Columbia Falls used to be the industrial hub of the Flathead Valley, and The Columbia was a watering hole for shiftworkers at the lumber mills and aluminum plant.

Today, the aluminum plant is long gone and timber employs a fraction of what it used to. There’s also more competition, with breweries and distilleries popping up across the valley.

The economy has also largely changed to tourism.

The community has been good to the bar and the bar to the community. Cary went on to be an accomplished basketball coach, leading the Columbia Falls boys teams to five state A basketball championships and the girls to one.

Pictures of those winning teams adorn the walls of the bar — a true hometown establishment.

Finberg continues to coach the girls and plans on doing so after the sale. He said he might help coach other sports as well, now that he’ll have more time on his hands.

“I’d like to thank the community and thank all the customers,” Finberg said.

For his part, Ruis said he plans on keeping the bar the way it is, save for some upgrading to the building and its infrastructure.

He also said he plans on keeping the staff as well. Longtime bartender and cook Mike Scallen was recently voted best bartender in Columbia Falls.