The Boulder Cash 56 is in new hands, and its doors are now open.
The 131-year-old building housing Boulder Cash has quite the backstory: First built in 1891, the Main Street storefront has served past lives as a butchery, mercantile and grocery store. It was purchased by the Streib family in 1957 from Frank J. “Butch” Hrella. Jim and Jackie Streib sold the building, still a grocery at the time, in the year 2000 to their son Steven, who then converted it into the familiar liquor store. Steven Streib passed away in 2021, and the property was passed to his son, Robert Streib.
After 66 years in the Streib family, the building was purchased by Boulder Mayor Rusty Giulio in June. Valerie Hartman, Giulio’s girlfriend, purchased the Boulder Cash business from Streib, and since then has been working to obtain the related liquor license through the Montana Department of Revenue.
“At first the process felt very slow, and then it all wrapped up at once,” Hartman said on Oct. 16. “It’s all coming together now very quickly. I took inventory yesterday, I’m cleaning today, and we have to be open by tomorrow — it’s been crazy.”
While this is a new adventure, Hartman is no stranger to the industry. The daughter of liquor store owners, she has tended bar throughout her adult life. Hartman most recently managed the VFW hall in East Helena, where she reassures she can still be found tending bar on Thursday nights: “My ‘boys’ come in there to share stories,” she explains, “and they’ll still be able to find me there once a week.”
Hartman is currently joined by sole employee Sunni Dean, whom some may also recognize as a bartender at Dave’s just down the street. “Right away, we plan to paint the walls and replace the flooring,” Dean explains. “We might also try to restore the look of the old tin ceilings — these main street buildings are such a beautiful piece of history, and we’d like to see that feeling preserved.”
Another immediate change comes in the form of updating to more regular hours. The store will now open Tuesdays through Fridays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Boulder Cash is closed Sundays and Mondays.
When asked about her vision for the future of the Cash, Hartman said she is ready for the undertaking. “I’m nervous, but excited and looking forward. However, my niece Megan [McCauley], she’s the one in the family with vision,” Hartman said.
And vision may run in the family. Walking past shelves and bottles, Hartman motions to the treasures found sorting through the signs and butcher shop relics of the back room, sharing her plans to repurpose vintage items from the Boulder Cash’s past lives to create displays and share the city’s history in the storefront. She also intends to adorn the shop walls with rustic canvas prints highlighting the Boulder of yesteryear.
But first things first: “A whole lot of cleaning and reorganizing,” Hartman says with a smile.
