The Silver Dollar becomes a silver lining

Lori Himes
Posted 7/18/17

Larry and Bess Halligan are proud to announce that the Silver Dollar Bar will be opening Thursday July 20, 2017

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The Silver Dollar becomes a silver lining

Posted

It has been said that every cloud has a silver lining but when the Silver Dollar Bar abruptly closed its doors July 2, 2016, that adage was difficult to comprehend. The institution, since the 1930’s, appeared to be another causilty of either politics or the unstable economy. But that was not the case.

Larry and Bess Halligan are proud to announce that the Silver Dollar Bar will be opening Thursday July 20, 2017. Stephanie Scott will be leasing and operating the Silver Dollar Bar.

Larry and Bess purchased the bar in 2000 from Dewey Ellsworth. Larry had managed the bar since 1996. But the history, some of it lost, goes back to the 1930’s. 

Sometime in the 1930’s, Harvey’s Bar was located across the street from the present location and was owned by Harvey Miller. Harvey then sold his business, in the 1950’s, to his nephew, Mike Miller and Ed and Opal Plumb. The trio moved the business to its present location. The relocation initiated the now defunct Cowboy Bar to move down the street. While the time frame of the renaming to the Silver Dollar is unclear, once across the street, the Silver Dollar was born. Ed and Opal Plumb bought out Mike Miller and continued to operate the bar until the 1970’s.

In the 1970’s the Plumbs sold their interest to John Jassman. While Halligan is not positive, he believes that Jassman ran the business for a short time before selling to Al Titchener. The bar changed hands in the 1980’s, once again, to Marie (Sarge) Johnson and Ruby Miller, soon after, to become Ruby Burt with her marriage to Bill Burt Sr. Ruby and Sarge sold their interest in 1990 to Dewey Ellsworth.

Stephanie Scott brings over 14 years of management skill to her newest endeavor. And it isn’t without some melancholy. “This is a leap of faith”, said Scott. “Whitaker Oil was very good to me and I enjoyed working for them. But it’s time that I put that experience and hard work into something for myself and my family”.

With the new management there will be some changes. The bar will now be a non-smoking establishment. There will be an outside area in the back to accommodate the smoking clientele. Week day hours will be 10 a.m until 10 p.m. The kitchen will be open until 9:30 p.m. The kitchen will maintain a limited menu in the beginning, but Scott is already actively engaged in developing a full menu option with plans to launch following the rush of Sturgis. 

On Friday and Saturday nights the hours will be 10 a.m until midnight and there will be some type of musical entertainment provided. This weekend, during the soft opening, there will be Karaoke from 7 p.m. until midnight provided by Gayle Johnson.

By leaving behind your old self and taking a leap of faith into the unknown, you find out what you are truly capable of becoming and in the end, you only regret the chances you didn’t take.  Scott is excited for the challenge and believes the experience will be  a lot of fun.