Formerly: M&M Cigar Store
Butte, Montana · Founded 1890
A relocated Butte bar-and-cafe continuation of an 1890 mining-era saloon whose original building was destroyed by fire in 2021.
The M&M began in Butte in 1890 as a pool hall, saloon, eatery, and gambling house founded by Sam Martin and William F. Mosby. It later became known as the M&M Cigar Store and developed a reputation for serving shift workers around the clock. After a May 2021 fire destroyed the historic 9 North Main building, the business resumed next door as The M&M Bar and Cafe at 17 North Main Street.
Sam Martin and William F. Mosby open the original M&M as a pool hall, saloon, and gambling house in Butte.
Source: Montana Public Radio/AP, "Fire Destroys Butte's Historic M&M Cigar Store Building," May 7, 2021; KXLF, "The last great cigar store: the history of the M&M," May 8, 2021
During the Prohibition era, local accounts say the M&M used its cigar-store identity as cover while a speakeasy operated in the back room; the precise dates and enforcement record remain unverified.
Source: KXLF, "The last great cigar store: the history of the M&M," May 8, 2021; The M&M Bar and Cafe, "History"
The M&M gains a 1940s Art Deco ground-floor façade and a prominent neon sign, according to heritage and business-history accounts.
Source: The M&M Bar and Cafe, "History"; Montana Historical Society, "M & M Cigar Store: Butte National Historic Landmark District"
The original M&M closes in the late 1990s after more than a century of operation, ending its historic round-the-clock run.
Source: KXLF, "The last great cigar store: the history of the M&M," May 8, 2021
Bud Walker and his son purchase the closed M&M building.
Source: KXLF, "The last great cigar store: the history of the M&M," May 8, 2021
The Walkers reopen the M&M after refurbishing the historic building.
Source: KXLF, "The last great cigar store: the history of the M&M," May 8, 2021
A fire guts and destroys the M&M's historic building at 9 North Main Street.
Source: Montana Public Radio/AP, "Fire Destroys Butte's Historic M&M Cigar Store Building," May 7, 2021; KXLF, "The last great cigar store: the history of the M&M," May 8, 2021
The M&M resumes operation next door as The M&M Bar and Cafe at 17 North Main Street; the exact reopening date requires confirmation.
Source: The M&M Bar and Cafe official website; current Southwest Montana listing
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
Contemporary 2021 fire reporting, local historical reporting, the business history, and Montana heritage material identify Sam Martin and William F. Mosby as the first proprietors and date the original M&M operation to 1890.
KXLF, the M&M's history, and Montana heritage material all say the business operated around the clock for well over a century and that its doors were always unlocked. The candidate's claimed municipal logs, exact 365-days-a-year record, and literal absence of door keys were not reviewed, and the business closed in the late 1990s.
The original business closed in the late 1990s before being purchased in 2004 and reopened in 2005. It also closed after the May 2021 fire before resuming operations next door. The M&M has a long lineage, not uninterrupted operation.
Local historical reporting and the business's own history say that the M&M adopted the cigar-store identity while a speakeasy operated in a back room during Prohibition. This review did not locate contemporaneous police, court, licensing, or newspaper evidence verifying the arrangement.
Montana Public Radio/AP, KXLF, and Montana Historical Society records document the May 7, 2021 fire that gutted and destroyed the historic M&M building at 9 North Main Street.
The current M&M website says the original location was destroyed in 2021 and that the business reopened next door. Its official contact information and Southwest Montana listing identify the active location as 17 North Main Street.
Sam Martin and William Metlen founded the M&M in 1890.
The sources reviewed identify Sam Martin and William F. Mosby, not William Metlen, as the original 1890 proprietors.
Source: Montana Public Radio/AP, "Fire Destroys Butte's Historic M&M Cigar Store Building," May 7, 2021; KXLF, "The last great cigar store: the history of the M&M," May 8, 2021
The M&M has remained continuously open since 1890.
The M&M closed in the late 1990s, reopened in 2005, and later closed after the 2021 fire before resuming next door. It has a historic lineage but not uninterrupted operation.
Source: KXLF, "The last great cigar store: the history of the M&M," May 8, 2021; The M&M Bar and Cafe official website
The M&M is still in its original historic building at 9 North Main Street.
The 9 North Main Street building was destroyed in May 2021. The continuing business operates next door at 17 North Main Street as The M&M Bar and Cafe.
Source: The M&M Bar and Cafe official website; Montana Historical Society, "M & M Cigar Store: Butte National Historic Landmark District"
The M&M permanently closed after the 2021 fire.
The original building was destroyed, but the business later reopened next door as The M&M Bar and Cafe.
Source: The M&M Bar and Cafe official website; Southwest Montana, "M&M Bar & Cafe"
The M&M's identity survived because it held a strong place in Butte's mining-era and working-hours culture, even though its operating history includes a late-1990s closure and a 2021 fire. The present business preserves the name and social role of the old M&M from a different, adjacent location rather than claiming uninterrupted service in the original building.
Yes. A May 7, 2021 fire destroyed the historic M&M Cigar Store building at 9 North Main Street. The business later resumed operation next door as The M&M Bar and Cafe at 17 North Main Street.
The original M&M began in 1890, when Sam Martin and William F. Mosby opened a pool hall, saloon, and gambling house in Butte. The business later became known as the M&M Cigar Store and is now operating next door as The M&M Bar and Cafe.
Historical accounts say the M&M served customers around the clock for more than a century, especially workers on Butte's rotating mining shifts. That historical reputation should not be confused with current service hours or uninterrupted operation through the late 1990s and the 2021 fire closure.
Local history says the M&M presented itself as a cigar store during Prohibition while a speakeasy operated in the back room. The story is credible local tradition, but this review did not locate contemporaneous police, court, licensing, or newspaper records verifying the illegal operation.
No. The original M&M building at 9 North Main Street was destroyed by fire in 2021. The continuing business operates next door as The M&M Bar and Cafe at 17 North Main Street.
Selina Pankovich was identified as the M&M's owner during 2021 fire coverage. This review did not locate a current Montana business filing, liquor-license record, or recent independent report confirming the present legal owner or operator after the next-door reopening.
17 N Main St, Butte, MT 59701
(406) 299-2192
The active M&M operates next door to its destroyed original building; check current hours directly because the historic 24-hour schedule is not the present published schedule.