The Northern celebrates 100 years behind the bar

Like a lot of memories formed over a few drinks at the Great Northern Bar and Grill, the precise history of the iconic Whitefish watering hole is somewhat hazy and imprecise, but legendary all the same.

The iconic bar held its 100th anniversary party Saturday night, but the milestone is more of a salute to the Northern’s loyal customers and tenured staff than a celebration of a verified historical marker.

“It’s just a good guess,” said Doug Rommereim, who has been involved in the Northern’s management in some way or another since 1983. “We knew it was sometime around the end of World War I, so I put 1919 on the sign in the 1980s. I was never thinking in 30 years we’d have to have a party.”

They do know the historic establishment got its start when the Great Northern Railway began building through the fledgling town of Whitefish in the early 20th century. For years, the bar occupied a smaller space on the north side of Second Street, between Baker and Lupfer avenues. Rommereim believes then-owner Jane Mathias built one half of the current building on Central Avenue sometime in the 1950s, but he admitted, “It’s all just hearsay.”

While its exact backstory may be somewhat of a mystery, the Great Northern’s significance in the valley is a sure thing.

“It’s an institution,” Rommereim affirmed.

As Whitefish has grown from a small railroad outpost to a thriving tourist destination, the Northern has been a witness to the city’s colorful history — including a few events that might be missing from the history books.

Bruce Springsteen’s 1996 surprise performance on the Great Northern stage while visiting Whitefish for his sound engineer’s wedding is a popular story locals tell with pride, and many bar regulars may be familiar with the story of Dale Duff from Rocky Mountain Transportation, who once rode a horse through the bar “just to stir things up.”

And a few years after they took the bar over in 1987, Rommereim and partner Kathy McGrath watched in shock through the Northern’s front windows as armed men swarmed The Cadillac Hotel and Restaurant across the street. The new owners spent hours holed up in the bar as federal agents raided the neighboring establishment in search of infamous mobster “Lucky” Luciano’s nephew “Alfie.”

“He was never seen since,” Rommereim said, but the giant sign from the former Cadillac Hotel now adorns the southern wall of the Great Northern.

It’s one of hundreds of signs testifying to the bar’s impressive staying power. The business, which has expanded from its original building to include a former taxidermy shop and outdoor beer garden, is decked out with signs from many businesses that have closed down over the years.

“Some are upstairs because there’s just too many,” Rommereim said. “99% of them are local.”

The first piece of the now-overflowing collection was the neon “Groceries” sign that hangs above the food counter in the back of the bar. The sign came from a closed-down grocery shop across the street from Whitefish Middle School.

“I just knew it would be perfect right back where you order food,” Rommereim said, but he had to haggle the asking price of $200 down to $20. Nowadays, most signs are entered into the collection at the small price of a free pint of beer.

Many of the decorations came to their final resting place in the difficult economic climate of the 1980s. “Times were tough in the eighties. They really were,” Rommereim recalled.

Despite its simple formula of drinks, food and dancing, the Great Northern has not only managed to weather turbulent times, but has grown consistently through the decades.

“Business has increased every year since 1988,” he said.

To keep the taps flowing and the locals dancing for the past century, it has taken far more than a little luck. With the addition of the extra building in the late ’80s, Rommereim built the stage by hand and also added casino games along the way.

His son Scott Larkin “rebooted the music scene,” expanding from three nights of rock ‘n’ roll performances by the house band to include a wide array of live performers in all different genres. “Now we have about 120 bands a year,” Rommereim reported.

“A lot of people come for the music,” he observed, yet he couldn’t seem to put his finger on the key to the Great Northern’s century of success.

“It’s just a bar,” he insisted, as if surprised by the bar’s legacy and longevity.

But with a dedicated cast of patrons and employees returning day after day since the current owners took the helm nearly 30 years ago, he recognized there must be something that makes the Great Northern so great.

“When you’re here, you’re here. You don’t want to leave.”