Only in Butte, a town that has experienced the ups and downs of a volatile economy, would a father and son abandon secure professional positions to enter the high risk restaurant/tavern/casino business.
That's what Don "Doc" Wheeler and his son, Bill, did when they converted a former car dealership and the site of two failed restaurants on East Galena Street into a successful tavern, eatery and gaming establishment.
"Butte people are resourceful and they're fighters," Bill Wheeler said in an interview. "My dad would not have opened up if he didn't feel there was promise in Butte."
Doc opened his first restaurant in the Mining City when he drew on his experiences with a college roommate who enjoyed cooking Mexican food. In 1972, Doc opened El Taco on Harrison Avenue in Butte.
He opened what is now the Gold Rush Restaurant and Casino in 1987, and a decade later, established El Taco Dos in Uptown Butte.
It was then that Bill, now 39, who had been working as a financial planner in Seattle, San Antonio and Bozeman, joined the operation as his dad's "bean counter." He is now the operation's right hand man.
"My wife wanted to live in Montana," Bill said. "And my dad needed some help analyzing the books. One of the reasons my dad hired me was to run the numbers."
Doc, a native of Colorado, and his wife, Carol, came to Butte in 1957 where he was employed as a veterinarian for the state. But he didn't like the regulatory side of the work, so he opened his own private practice with another veterinarian. He spent 25 years as a veterinarian and now says, he "knew every dog in town."
According to Bill, his dad had always "had a dream" of opening a large-scale restaurant. He bought the building which is now the site of the Gold Rush in 1984 and leased it to two different operators who went out of business. He opened his own restaurant there in 1987.
But it had become apparent, particularly with the failure of two previous restaurants in the somewhat isolated location of East Galena Street, something besides food was needed to attract patrons. Video gaming had been legalized by the 1985 Legislature, and Doc immediately saw the benefit of combining a bar/restaurant with a gaming establishment. Thus, in 1987, the Gold Rush became "the first full-fledged casino in Silver Bow County," according to Bill Wheeler.
"It's tough to make it as a restaurant only," he said. "Without gaming, we'd probably have to close the doors."
That would mean closing three restaurants, all of which have gaming machines, that employ about 90 Butte residents, 68 of them at the Gold Rush.
"There are a lot of people in here who are in the same boat," Bill said.
"I have the same independence as my father," Bill said. "My dad taught all of us to be independent thinkers. To have an opportunity to be able to work with your father and live in Montana is a pretty special thing."
The Wheelers' sense of family also extends to the employees at the three businesses.
"One of our greatest assets are our employees. And one of our biggest challenges is to find people like them."
But if it weren't for legal gaming, everything the Wheelers and their extended family have worked for over the years would be gone.
"There are a lot of people who want to live and work in Montana," Bill said. "Like many other families in Montana, we want to extend our business to the next generation so that we can make a difference."
Source: Special Reports,
published by Continental Communications, 125 W. Granite, Suite 102, Butte, MT 59701.