Over 100 people gathered outside of the M&M in Uptown Butte Sunday, nearly four years after the historic bar’s original location was lost in a fire. Father Patrick Beretta, leader of Butte’s Catholic Parishes, addressed the impact the fire had on the community.
“If you want to understand how much devotion there is for this iconic tavern, I saw more sadness in Butte the night the M&M burned than in Paris the night the cathedral burned."
The 20-foot-tall neon sign was the only part of the original building saved from the fire. The M&M reopened at a new location next door in 2023, but it took another two years to clean, repair, and hang the sign.
M&M owner Selina Pankovich led the crowd in a countdown that initially fizzled out.
After a short delay, the circuit flipped and the sign turned on for the first time since the fire.
In his benediction, Father Beretta offered a prayer that the M&M would continue to be a beacon for the Butte community, as it has since 1890.
“And we ask that you keep it burning brightly, so that the M&M can continue to thrive as a place of joy, a place of peace, a place of gathering, and a place of encounter.”
