BUTTE – A fire gutted the historic M&M Cigar Store in Butte early Friday.
The fire took out the bar and cafe’s roof and charred and gutted the rest of the building.
“It’s a total loss. No question,” said Jim Merrifield, a battalion chief with the Butte-Silver Bow Fire Department. No one was injured and the cause of the fire is under investigation.
The fire was reported at 3 a.m. and responding firefighters said there were 12-foot (3.6-meter) flames coming from the roof.
“There was smoke in every orifice of the building,” Merrifield said. “The fire was on the roof and spread throughout the building through the duct work.”
Firefighters initially had the blaze under control but it restarted at around 9 a.m., sending more smoke into the sky.
The building’s name comes from the initials of the two men, Sam Martin and William Mosby, who opened the first bar there in 1890.
The bar, which had a string of owners, was famous for staying open around the clock, catering to miners getting off work and serving large breakfasts at all hours, according to a description on a National Register plaque outside the building.
During Prohibition, the bar changed its name and officially became a cigar store. Cigars were sold in the front of the building while liquor continued to be served in an illegal speakeasy in the back, according to the plaque.
Butte-Silver Bow County Sheriff Ed Lester said the building was simply a “legendary place.”
“Everyone from Butte has stories about what happened at the M&M,” he told The Montana Standard on Friday morning. “You could have a few drinks, gamble, watch a fight and have the world’s best ham and cheese omelet — all in one place.”