Flavors under the Big Sky by Fong Stella;Donaldson-Vermill Lynn;Schommer Chuck;

Author:Fong, Stella;Donaldson-Vermill, Lynn;Schommer, Chuck;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Published: 2020-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

THE REX BAR AND GRILL

The Rex Bar and Grill closed the day after Valentine’s Day 2018, after the Rex partnership decided to shut down the restaurant with no advance notice to the community. A handwritten sign on the door announced its closing.

During The Rex’s thirty-four years of operation, Gene Burgad was the face of the restaurant, backed by two silent partners. Executive Chef David Maplethorpe ran the kitchen for twenty-seven of those years. He had hoped to retire in May 2018 but was forced to move that date forward with the sudden closing. The partners decided that the time was right to quit the restaurant and bar, while continuing to lease offices in the upper floors of the former hotel.

H. Alfred Heimer opened the Rex Hotel and Bar across from the Billings Depot on March 27, 1909, with the help of his friend “Buffalo Bill” Cody. At sixteen, the German immigrant took a job with Buffalo Cody’s Wild West Show in 1894. The young man, who was purportedly fired three times, worked for Cody in his private railway car until 1903.

In 1975, Senia Hart saved The Rex from demolition by purchasing the dilapidated historic building. Later, she sold it to A&E Architects, which later sold to Gene Burgad and his partners. To this day, the mahogany bar with brass foot railings, the metal ceiling and the stained and beveled glass windows remain.

In 1917, a third-floor addition converted Heimer’s hotel into one of the best places to stay at the time. Noteworthy guests included the Crow Chief Plenty Coups, heading to Washington, D.C., in 1921. More colorful celebrities included Will James and Calamity Jane.

During Prohibition, festivities moved from room to room at the hotel. Underground tunnels provided for the movement of alcohol and partiers. Gambling and prostitution were popular pastimes during the period.

If only the walls could talk. Reid Pyburn—who started at The Rex as a dishwasher and worked his way up by bartending and managing the restaurant—recalled ghost stories. During October, in the weeks before Halloween, tours would come through in search of a ghost named “Buck” and a woman that occupied the lower floors who was reportedly seen by guests as they descended the stairway.

Pyburn’s firsthand experience came when a couple came in for dinner one night. They were coincidentally seated at table 13, and Pyburn was asked by a waiter to come to the table. The female guest requested a table change because she saw a ghost standing by the table. After the staff moved the diners, the woman said, “This sort of thing happens to me all the time.”

Tolerance of ghosts is a testimonial to the loyalty of local patrons. Throughout the years, celebrities and dignitaries, as well as locals, gathered at The Rex. Clint Eastwood showed up for the opening of the patio when Burgad and his partners closed down Twenty-Fourth Street North to expand the restaurant. The massive oval bar, large beamed ceilings and outside patio with a fire pit were added during this remodel.

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