GREAT FALLS — Before Shirstie Gaylord could open her new store on Central Avenue, she had to decide whether the 140-year-old building was worth saving.
“I was mostly attracted to this building because it was budget-friendly, and boy did we figure out why it was budget-friendly,” she said.
WATCH: COWBOY SLICK TO OPEN IN 140 YEAR OLD DOWNTOWN BUILDING
A failing wall and a leaking roof turned the project into a major renovation. Now, Cowboy Slick is preparing for its grand opening Friday from 5-9 p.m. at 117 Central Avenue.
Owner Shirstie Gaylord, who also owns Hometana at 112 1st Ave South, said the brand gives her team an outlet for ideas that don’t fit Hometana’s Montana focus. She envisioned a store with a more masculine feel, featuring funny, sometimes irreverent designs.
But before she could fill the store, she had to repair the building.
“We literally had to save the building. The building was crumbling, and that is not an understatement,” Gaylord said.
She bought the property at 117 Central about a year and a half ago, after roughly six months of research. Working with an architect, a general contractor, and engineers, she first had to address its structural problems.
“The first thing that we needed to do was make the building structurally sound,” she said. “And then when it would rain outside, it would rain inside.”
The wall and roof needed immediate attention. The expense eventually led to a conversation with her contractor about whether to tear down the building and start over.
“And it turns out the cost is about the same,” Gaylord said. “We chose to save it.”
That decision also meant keeping features that show the building’s age. The exposed rafters, brick, and worn concrete floors remain, and an old sign is displayed in the back of the store.
“The concrete floors are stained and pitted and cracked, and we feel like every single one of those little pits tell the story of this building,” Gaylord said.
According to Gaylord, the building’s past uses include a furniture store, a heating and plumbing business and, most recently, an antique shop. She said old Sanborn fire insurance maps also show a fruit stand and a barber shop.
Preserving that history mattered to her as she prepared to add her own business to the list.
“I feel like we owe this entire downtown to the entrepreneurs that came here first,” she said.
After months of work, Gaylord said people have been stopping to look through the windows and trying the door even before the store opens.
Friday, they’ll be able to come inside.
