Railyard owners upgrade system, find new acts

By ANNA PAIGE
For The Outpost

Skirting the edge of downtown Billings is a neighborhood of businesses on Montana Avenue where the neon lights glow bright late into the night.

What was once considered the fringe of downtown — an avenue consisting of vacant storefronts and decaying buildings — has morphed into a vital part of the downtown infrastructure. Montana Avenue is filled with a growing number of vibrant businesses, including a diverse collection of art galleries, restaurants, bars and nightclubs.

The diversity of the avenue can be credited in part to Mike Schaer, a businessman who brought his computer company to Montana Avenue in the mid 1980s. Owner of Computers Unlimited and several buildings along Montana Avenue, Schaer, along with some instrumental backers of downtown restoration, is the driving force behind the area’s revitalization.

Schaer’s first project was the McCormick Café, opened in 1998 in a turn-of-the-century building at North 24th Street and Montana Avenue. He expanded downtown eateries by opening the Log Cabin Bakery and remodeled the building that houses Don Luis. Schaer purchased the Carlin Building and opened Q Cuisine and the Carlin Martini Bar and Nightclub, and his latest, Café Italia, a Tuscan-style restaurant adjacent to the McCormick Cafe, has been embraced into the avenue as a gathering place reminiscent of an old-world Italian eatery.

Across the street, a burgeoning business has continued to cultivate nightlife on the Avenue: the Railyard Ale House at 2528 Montana Ave. The bar and music venue is located in the historic Tracy Building, an L-shaped brick structure along the railroad, originally built in 1919 as an industrial warehouse.

The building housed a wholesale fruit, produce and grocery business from the 1920s to 1940s, and a wholesale grocer moved into the building in the mid 1940s after the fruit company closed. The building was vacated in the 1980s.

Schaer purchased the building in 2003 from the Montana Rail Link and subsequently remodeled it. An interior space was created extending from the building’s western wall onto the loading dock, the area that is now the Railyard. Schaer has a long-term lease for the land with Burlington Northern — typical for buildings located along the railroad — and rents the building to Carter’s Brewing and the Railyard Ale House.

Schaer said he purchased the building as part of his revitalization efforts along Montana Avenue, but also because he knew local music promoter and restaurateur Sean Lynch was looking for a new place to house his restaurant, the 11 Café, which he and wife Ann Kosempa opened on North Broadway in 2001.

Schaer, Lynch and Kosempa worked closely together on the building’s remodel, taking it from a vacant brick shell to a functional building, and the 11 Café relocated there in 2003.

The café encompassed the entire building, but in 2005 the northern portion was leased to the Railyard, which added a complementary bar business adjacent to the café.

Despite housing multiple businesses, the Tracy Building’s interior is consistent with its original design: an open floor plan with concrete flooring and exposed brick walls, support posts and beams, representative of warehouses built along the railroad.

Because of its intact design and historic details, the Tracy Building is considered among the best-preserved brick warehouses in the downtown area, according to the National Register of Historic Places.

In 2006, the building was included in the Montana Avenue Historic District and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Musical pairing

That same year, Lynch sold the 11 Café because it was “too much work for no money,” he said. Lynch and Kosempa then focused their efforts on an events promotion company, 11:11 Presents, which books live music throughout Montana. They have brought bands from Bright Eyes to Fishbone to Dropkick Murphys through Billings.

11:11 Presents recently became the Railyard’s exclusive booking agent. The partnership seems to be a natural progression for both businesses. Lynch has a long history with the building that houses the Railyard, and Railyard owner Delton Clark needed a hand with the musical direction the business would take.

“Billings is a big enough town anymore; it can support a live music venue,” Lynch said. “And Billings needs a small room that works. (The Railyard) is the perfect size.”

Clark, who worked as a bartender around Billings for many years, including at the Railyard, purchased the business with his grandfather in October 2007. Their two years of ownership is marked with a refreshed direction for the establishment and a well-stocked live music lineup this month.

“When my grandfather and I first bought this place, we were so tied up in actually buying the place that we didn’t focus on what the Railyard needed to be,” Clark said. “After being here for almost two years now, we’ve picked a direction and are going to stick with it. We want to be the music venue in town,” Clark said.

Running the business hasn’t been a walk in the park, Clark said. “We’ve gone through a lot of positive and negative changes. The economy took a hit with everyone downtown, and we felt that as well.”

Clark has been conservative with the business, and his partnership with Lynch has helped bring in patrons, he said.

Railyard manager Tammy Sobieraj agrees the Railyard is headed in a positive direction with the partnership.

“Sean is helping get a more eclectic mix of music, not just rock, not just whatever is the fad, but everything from country to hardcore metal,” Sobieraj said.

The Railyard has one of the most diverse clientele in Billings because it operates as a bar and a wide-ranging music venue. This was a concept that Clark and Sobieraj struggled with initially because most bars have core patrons.

“When you have a music venue you don’t necessarily need that,” Lynch said. “You need people in there all the time, but it doesn’t necessarily mean it has to be the same people.”

A new sound

The path to becoming Billings’ most active musical venue wasn’t simple, and it involved a hefty investment in live music. Clark adapted a new direction with Lynch, and they are focused on bringing national bands to the stage.

“There may be other live music venues, but they focus on bar bands, and that is not the focus at all here,” Lynch said. “The focus is bringing quality national acts.”

But the most impactful change at the Railyard so far has been installation of a new sound system.

“The biggest complaint I heard about Railyard was the sound,” Lynch said. Clark described the previous sound as “loud, scratchy and irritating. It was just painful to be in here.”

To create a better sound balance, the whole system was redone. Professionals sized the room and put everything into place. Though the sound system is more powerful than needed, it’s dialed down for the room.

“It’s a huge change. The quality of sound is so much better. It’s really crisp and clean,” Clark said. Even the karaoke singers can tell the difference.

The new system made its debut at Jimmie Van Zandt’s performance Sept 16. “That was probably the best sounding show we’ve ever had in here,” Clark said.

The monitor system, which ensures musicians are given the proper monitoring levels on stage, is also new.

“One of the biggest problems is people turning up amps because they can’t hear themselves,” Lynch said. The monitoring system encourages musicians to turn down their amps onstage.

As far as a musical focus at the Railyard, Lynch said, “It’s a live music venue. It will have everything.”

The Railyard is able to host all-ages concerts — as long as the concert is concluded by 10 p.m. — and is also able to host 18+ concerts.

The only determining factor is whether the venue allows smoking, which isn’t an issue at the Railyard. The bar has been smoke-free since shortly after Clark purchased it, and the Montana Clean Indoor Air Act took effect Oct. 1, outlawing smoking in all public establishments.

Season of change

The Railyard has a busy October, and Lynch is prepping for the “super week” beginning Oct. 19 with Brooklyn rock band The Hold Steady, returning to the Railyard following their hugely popular performance last summer as part of a MySpace Secret Show.

Then Oct. 20, the “multi-sensory aesthetic experience” band MAE swings by, followed on Oct. 22 with indie jazz artist Po’ Girl. On Oct. 23 local rapper Killa C has a CD release show, and on Oct. 24, the Pink Floyd tribute band Pinkie and the Floyd perform.

“October has the most diverse and best lineup that we’ve had at the Railyard,” Lynch said. “It is a prime opportunity to get the new sound system in front of people.”

Lynch is tight-lipped about concerts in the works, but said he has exciting bands on hold for November and December.Clark is enthusiastic about the progression the business has made, and has high aspirations for the future.

“When you think about music, I want you to think ‘Railyard,’” Clark said. “It might take a little time, but after next year it’ll definitely be the hot spot.”

October at the Railyard

16    Marcy Playground

18    I am the Ocean, Letlive, Flowers from Her, From Womb to Tomb, Destroy the Map

19    The Hold Steady

20    MAE, Jenny Owens Young, Deas Vail, Goodnight Sunrise (all ages)

22    Po’ Girl, Ryan Park Beautification Project

23    Killa C CD Release Party, Impurity (all ages)

24    Pinky and the Floyd (Pink Floyd tribute band)

31    DJ Nate Benefit

To find the latest calendar listings, event times and ticket information, visit www.myspace.com/railyardalehouse.