Seeking small tavern to lease (Billings, Missoula: for sale, leasing, transfer)

[hdprlt]

My family has moved from Wisconsin to a small Colorado mountain town and looking to relocate to posssably Idaho or Montana and are seeking a nice mountain town where we could find a mom & pop kind of tavern to lease or a place to renovate. We have 2 small children and enjoy the outdoors and do not mind the cold or the snow. We love the small town feel, but need to also make a living and support the family. Anyone have any insight?

[GiftShoppeGuy]

Originally Posted by hdprlt

My family has moved from Wisconsin to a small Colorado mountain town and looking to relocate to posssably Idaho or Montana and are seeking a nice mountain town where we could find a mom & pop kind of tavern to lease or a place to renovate. We have 2 small children and enjoy the outdoors and do not mind the cold or the snow. We love the small town feel, but need to also make a living and support the family. Anyone have any insight?

Just FYI

The last all-beverage license sold in Missoula for $750,000.

Montana uses a quota system for licensing based on population numbers. In Missoula, for instance, one new all-beverage license is granted for every 1,500 residents. Missoula has more all-beverage licenses than its quota allows because 26 licenses were grandfathered in when our system was adopted in the 70s.

Missoula's population would have to increase by 39,000 residents before a single new all-beverage license could be issued according to our quota system.
There are also other larger cities in Montana that have the same trouble, so Montana rarely issues many new licenses.

Often times you see a mom and pop tavern of four walls and little else. The building may not be worth $20,000, but the liquor license is the investment. Many of our tavern owners use the transferable value of their license as an investment toward retirement.

Sure, you may lease I suppose, but keep in mind that the owner reserves the right to sell his or her license at any time, and the new owners may not be so forthcoming with regard to extending your lease.

You may also find a place to renovate, but without a license, your tavern cannot exist, and in Montana, festive adult beverage licenses come in at a premium.

[hdprlt]

Thanks for the info. This is why I am doing research!!

[bigskylaw]

Actually, leasing licenses is illegal. Can't be done in Montana.

The only real low cost option for you, then, is an tavern that is more than five miles outside the limits of an unincorporated town. You can then get a state issued (no quota) beer and wine license with no gambling for $400.00. Or, you can buy a gambling beer, or all-beverage license for substantially less than you will pay in one of the larger communities.

Either way, though, you'll be buying the license, not leasing it.

[hdprlt]

I know you can't lease the license, but you can lease the property, or purchase if cheap enough. Once the building is aquired either the existing license could prob. be transferred or apply for a new license. I am looking for a smaller community, with prob. less than 10,000 people, even down to an unincorporated town like I grew up in. I have 2 small children and I would like them to grow up in a small community where you get to know everyone. Any business in a large town will be big bucks. That's why we are looking into the smaller communities to see if there are any possabilities. We are looking into the western part of the state in the mountains.Thanks for the info.

[lorelei2873]

If you don't mind a huge pit as one side of your city, Butte is great and there are usually a couple of really reasonable taverns for sale. Butte is a very friendly city and is located near lots of recreation. Housing is really, really affordable compared to the rest of the state. However, it is the site of an large open pit copper mine. It's also got a lot of interesting, raucus history and some fun Irish flavor. There are usually a couple of bars for sale there with liquor license in the $185-$250K range. If you want a really small town, well, I've managed bars in small towns, and no one's getting rich. You'd definitely have to do a lot of your own shifts and pinch your pennies. You want to avoid looking in Gallatin, Lewis & Clark, Missoula, Ravalli counties & the Kalispell area & Billings area. Other than that, you can find some pretty cheap bars with liquor licenses...for sale, not lease. And, most will include casino gaming so there is a big issue of whether or not you pay for a bar that comes with its own machines (more money out, but more money back in your pocket). Or, you can buy a bar where you lease the machines and the lessor takes a cut. Getting the gaming license is a bigger hassle than the liquor license, but it's really hard to make it in this state without one. It's expected. In lots of small towns, a tap beer is $1-$1.50 and a well drink is $1.75-$2.25 drink. You have to make it up on the gaming machines.

[AQHA]

Theres a little Tavern for sale on hwy 12 its 20 min. east of Helena. I think the are asking $275.

[lorelei2873]

Plus it comes with a small older 2 bdrm house.

[AQHA]

Is that place still open or did they close up? I've heard they have pretty good food.

[cecillaz]

How about Kevin Montana? It isn't in the mountains but it's near - about an hour's drive from Glacier Park and there are a couple ski areas within a couple hours. There is a bar for sale there, cheap - a fixer upper. The license is transferrable to any open quota area. Population is about 200 people. Anything else you want to know?