Still Old School
Windbag Saloon & Grill
Not the oldest thing in the building. Doesn't need to be.
The Story
Saloon and grill on Last Chance Gulch since 1977, in a downtown Helena building that was a theater, among other things, before the Windbag came along.
The Windbag opened as a saloon and grill on Last Chance Gulch in 1977. The building had been around a good while before that. It was a theater at one point, and it went through a few other downtown chapters before the Windbag name went over the door.
So it isn’t the oldest business that ever used the place, and it doesn’t need to be. Almost fifty years on the Gulch is a decent run on its own.
There’s a full bar, brunch on weekends, and a room downtown Helena actually uses, weekdays and weekends both.
Got a Windbag story? Keep it clean, and send it our way.
Why It's Still Old School
On the Gulch since 1977, inside a building a lot older than that. Still where downtown Helena goes for a beer and a plate.
Photos
Coming soon. Know something that belongs here?
Still There.
- Address
- 19 S. Last Chance Gulch, Helena, MT, 59601
- Phone
- 406-443-3520
Sources
Got a Story About This Place?
You're Old School Montana if... you still say Main Street, and it's been a walking mall since the '70s
You're Old School Montana if... somebody in your family has initials carved into a booth at the candy shop downtown
You're Old School Montana if... you bought bolts one at a time at a hardware counter where they knew your last name
What do you say?
While You're Here
Still Old School · Helena · Before '50
Still Old School: The Parrot Still Talks for Itself
The Parrot has made candy by hand on Last Chance Gulch since 1922. In 2025 the candy apprentice who started in 2018 bought the place, and she'd like to keep it exactly like this.
Then & Now · Helena · '70s
Then & Now: Helena Took the Cars Off Last Chance Gulch and Kept It That Way
Between 1973 and 1977, Helena took the cars off Main Street and put in a fake stream. Most towns that built a walking mall tore it out later. Helena didn't.
Remember This? · Helena · '60s
Remember This? Frontier Town, Where the Bar Was One Tree
Just below the summit of MacDonald Pass, John Quigley spent more than 30 years building a log-and-stone town by hand. The bar alone used up a whole Douglas fir.
Montana Original
The Parrot Confectionery
It talks for itself.
Still Kicking
Buckhorn Bar
Burned in 1974. The town held a trapshoot about it.
Made to Last
Rialto Theatre
More than 4,000 people chipped in on your seat.