By Cole Boehler
Glenn Godward of Livingston has been quite content working behind the plank for 40 years while signing his paycheck on the back side.
But now, at a young age 65, after having survived cancer and a heart attack, he's decided to try the ownership side of the bar business ... yes, in the trough of a major economic recession.
One could reasonably speculate that Godward is insane, but talk to the man and you get a different feeling, that the time and circumstances were simply right, all that logic be damned. Glen was born in Glendive but moved with his family to Livingston at age two. The observant listener might speculate Glen's father must have worked for the railroad, and he would be correct.
He graduated Park County High School, then took his first job bartending at the Murray Hotel in Livingston while he was studying accounting at Montana State University over the pass in Bozeman. As for a career in accounting, Godward determined "I'm too restless for that."
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Glenn Godward behind his own plank at the Park Place Tavern.
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"I always wanted to tend bar until I grew up and decided what I really wanted to do," he said with a grin.
Then he worked the bar at the old Cove Nightclub which, he says, "was quite a place that would seat a couple of hundred. It burned down in the 1970s."
He next worked for Uncle Sam for awhile, seeing the sights in Viet Nam and wearing the olive drab uniform of the U.S. army rather than the pressed, long-sleeve shirt and tie that have been his trademark behind the plank.
Godward came up in the bartending business when it still had a strong union, when bartenders regarded themselves, and were regarded by the public, as true professionals, and whose attire and work standards reflected it.
Today, Godward laments, "bartenders" are too often youngsters who don't really appreciate or understand the profession, and have little inkling of the "right way" to do things.
He's no mere "drink slinger." To observe him behind the bar speaks of another time, another era, one with class, when you took pride in your chosen craft. He smiles, he engages the customer with a quick and witty banter, all the while preparing drinks in a by-the-book manner, using the appropriate tools of the trade: jiggers, stir spoons, cocktail shakers, wine bottle foil cutters and corkscrews – all the implements.
Godward says he learned a lot working for "Slim" Fleischmann at the Murray and also Dan Sundling who ran the Pastime in Livingston, and who Godward worked for 12 years. He also worked at the Guest House for eight years and most recently worked for Russell Chatham's Livingston Bar and Grille for almost 12 years.
At the Bar and Grill, he got to know a couple of brothers, Bill and Joe Hernandez, who had a background in the hospitality business, including foodservice. Godward says they would sometimes engage in idle speculation about what they could do with this or that location around town.
One particular spot, just around the corner from the Bar and Grille on Livingston's Park Street, particularly fed the men's fancy. That was the former Slack Knuckle bar and eatery, and before that Orion's Pub. The location was sitting idle.
The speculation progressed to the point the three men started making some inquiries. The building owner just wanted some qualified, responsible party to put it to productive use, so cut the men what Glen calls "a helluva deal."
"It's the best location in town," he noted, with an access from both Main Street and Park Street. It is one of Livingston's earliest buildings, Godward said, constructed in 1883.
The Hernandez brothers and Godward acquired the license, then went to work remodeling the interior. The focal point is the horseshoe bar built of oak by Bill Henandez, a beautiful, but functional and efficient, piece of furniture.
It works well from a productivity perspective, Godward noted, but he said customers like the format too, able to interact across the bar with other customers. The horseshoe is complemented by a massive and graceful (and just refinished) antique back bar.
The room boasts 20-foot ceilings and rich woodwork and trim with grand windows opening onto the spacious deck on the Park Street side facing west. Period light fixtures and fans hang from the ceiling. The space is bright and airy and has the feel of an upscale hotel bar from the 1930s.
The seven large Russell Chatham prints on the walls certainly enhance the ambiance.
The deck is nicely shaded and features a full bar that is always stocked, with inventory secured during closed hours by an ingenuous series of mini garage doors. The interior space seats 40 but another 60 can be comfortable outdoors when the weather permits.
Perhaps remarkably, when the partners told friends about the venture a dozen volunteers showed up to scrub the place down, help with the light construction, refinishing woodwork and painting. "They started at the ceiling," Godward said.
The process took almost three months, he said, but the business opened July 2, just in time to take advantage of Livingston's biggest celebration of the year.
"The opening of the Park Place Tavern has been remarkably successful," he said, but after bartending in one town for 40 years, if you're good at it you're bound to make a lot of friends.
The Park Place Tavern serves lunches and dinners that are affordable and have ample portions.
"A lot of people say they cater to the locals," Godward said," but they don't really. They price the locals out. Here a couple can get meals and drinks for $20. Some nights you can get a 10- or 11-ounce sirloin with corn on the cob and the rest for $15. We're still developing the menu," keeping it simple at first. "We will add entrees and we're working on our wine list."
The kitchen was reconfigured and streamlined by necessity, since it is quite small. A maximum of three can work in the space, but still, they are getting out 60 to 100 lunches and up to 150 dinners each day, Godward said.
"The local support has just been awesome," he said.
They do this with three staff working the back of the house and four wait and bus staff. Glen handles the bar nightshifts (seven nights a week at present) and has a dayside bartender. Partner Joe Hernandez works the outdoor bar at night.
"I'm very fortunate to have the staff that I do," he said. "Good help is always hard to find. Ours are very good."
Godward also says he feels fortunate to have been able to work with the folks in the regulatory community, from the State Department of Revenue licensing staff to the local health and fire inspectors.
"It's a very involved process" getting a licensed hospitality business open, Godward said. "They make you feel good about it. They want to help you."
Some people might have considered retiring after dealing successfully with a serious case of prostate cancer, then having a heart attack and a "bushing" inserted into an artery, as Godward has.
"I'll keep this up until I can't do it anymore," the life-long bachelor said. "I don't know what I'd do if I retired. Watch TV?"
But the relentlessly upbeat Godward for once becomes a little somber when the cancer subject is broached: "It was a roller coaster ride for awhile. That's the only thing that has ever gotten to me mentally – besides a woman," he hastened to add. "It took me awhile to get my head screwed back on."
As for the heart attack?
"It must have been mild; I didn't die. I did make a few lifestyle changes, though. I exercise and watch my diet."
So how does it feel being an employer rather than employee?
"Not that much different," Godward said. "There's a little more responsibility. We've been so busy since we got open I haven't really had time to think about it. I've managed places before. We got in with some money down and our reputations. I guess this time if we don't make it, it's our nickel."
"It's been a trip."