In Smeltertown, the historical epicenter of partying, dancing, eating and socializing is one particular building. Located at 7595 CR 150, it’s currently serving as a tango dance studio and private residence. Before that it went through more than 80 years as a buzzing hub for the town and the region serving as a restaurant, nightclub, 3.2 bar and fraternal hall.
Its owners have been long-time Salida locals, some of whom still remain here. Countless patrons, once barely old enough to be served, and now grandparents, remember the good times in the building and sometimes stop to tell the current owners how much fun they had.
During the heyday, hefty paychecks from mining, railroading, trucking and Western commerce created an atmosphere of good times and prosperity.
One of the first documented references to good times in Smeltertown comes from the 1941 Mountain States Telephone & Telegraph Company at the Salida Regional Library.
That directory lists The Country Club with a simple phone number of 123. No address, just the name of the business followed by the location, Smelter. The listing skips 1942, but then picks back up in 1943 and continues by the same directory publisher until 1955.
Also within the library collection are two copies of the 1951 edition of the Rocky Mountain Directory Company’s listing book. One directory lists Sam Theotokatos as the manager of The Country Club. County property records show that the rear cinder block portion of the building was likely constructed about this time.
Missing from the library collection are the years 1956 to 1960.
A 1961 Directory lists The Club in Smelter with no address nor owner. A 1963 edition lists the tavern, owned by Carl Cascarelli with a general address of Smelter Road. The 1965 edition shows the same listing as a tavern with the same address, but a change in the name of the spelling of the owner to Coscarella.
The library collection skips again three years to 1969 which shows the business listed as the The Club, owned by Carl Coscarella.
From there, the direct tracing skips a number of years, although it’s believed that Coscarella sold to long-time Salida man Bob Pasquale who continued to operate the nightclub and restaurant as The Club.
Pasquale eventually sold to Gill West and his brother Gene Gaston. They operated as the East-West Club, which featured live music and games.
Peter Hammel, a long-time Salidan purchased the building sometime around 1972. What is known is that in July of 1971 the voting age was lowered to 18 and soon states all across the country were dropping the minimum drinking age from 21 to 18. Quickly afterwards the 3.2 bar business was booming.
Hammel ran the place only on weekends serving 3.2 Coors beer on tap as well as bottled beer. He booked bands which played to about 11:40 p.m. since he had to close by midnight.
“All the high school kids would go there,” he said. “If it had been a regular bar, it wouldn’t have been as fun. The kids made it fun, they really liked the music.”
By about 1977 Hammel said he grew tired of running the club and wasn’t making any money. When news got out he was selling, Pasquale threw a bar-closing party in the parking lot marking the end of the East-West Club.
Hammel sold to Dick and Karen Mansheim, who opened Uncle Dick’s after an extensive remodel. They put in stadium-style seating on the edge of the dance floor and upgraded bar and restaurant equipment. They also upgraded well and septic systems but kept the Frank and Jessie James leatherwork murals behind the bar that Hammel had put in.
With Karen working the kitchen cooking green chili, enchiladas, burritos and tacos, and Dick booking bands via a Denver agent, the place was hopping. Kids were playing in the game room, live music was going on weekends and the cops knew where everyone was.
“We had kids from a 60 mile radius,” Dick said. “BV, Leadville, the Valley, Saguache. We’d have 200 kids a night.” Dick estimated they sold 15 kegs and 100 cases of bottles a week.
There were a few fights, and some trouble with a group from Pueblo but Dick and Karen kept it fun with Halloween parties and good music. “The kids were having as good as parties as the adults were,” he said.
Although it was a good ride, it lasted briefly and by 1981 Uncle Dick’s was no more. The hours, stress and alcohol caught up with Dick and he ended up trying to sell the building three times. It kept getting transferred back to him after the new buyer had problems paying the note.
The 1981 restaurant section of the Mountain Bell Directory lists The Club, with the same address as Uncle Dick’s but no associated advertising. Gary Spino was trying his hand in the biz.
By March of 1982, there’s a listing for Butch’s, which advertised “authentic Mexican food, lunch and dinner. Cocktails, beers & wines. Banquet room. Mon-Sat 9am. – 2 am.” Butch was Butch Rabby, Dick’s brother-in-law who had converted it to a full-strength bar since the adults had come to realize it wasn’t so cool to be in the same place as the kids.
That restaurant didn’t last very long with the new “Gateway Cove” appearing by April of 1983 with yet a new owner, George Edwards. His family was operating and continues to run the Patio Pancake in Salida. The ad in the telephone directory used this tag line: “Discover a pirate’s feast at a stowaway’s price.”
The Cove seems to be the last restaurant to occupy the location, as directories from April of 1985 to 1990 list no other restaurant at that address.
County records show George Edwards owned the building until 1992. After that it was sold or foreclosed on four more times and is currently owned by Stephen Keefer and Dvora Kanegis.
The Boulder-area couple extensively remodeled the place in 2009. The rear portion of the building, which was the bar and restaurant, is now modern-design living space and features in-floor heating. The front portion of the building highlights the original dance floor where tango dance instruction now happens and it’s all heated and cooled by a geothermal system that includes two 400-foot wells and associated loop system.
Dvora says the old, brick portion of the building, constructed in the early portion of the century is perfect for dancing, because it features no center pole. When first purchased, it was divided into rooms with a low ceiling and the rear portion was run down. Now, the couple is keeping the dancing tradition going strong and host tango and swing instruction open to the public on the first Saturday of each month.
Christopher Kolomitz is a freelance writer and small business owner living in Salida and once heard stories about how easy it was to pick up chicks in 3.2 bars.
