GREAT FALLS — As the Maui wildfire continues to worsen, and the death toll has risen to at least 96, The Wild Hare in downtown Great Falls has set up a fundraiser to help those impacted by the disaster, after its sister bar 'The Dirty Monkey' was destroyed in the coastal town of Lahaina.
Matthew Robb, co-owner of 'The Wild Hare' and 'The Dirty Monkey,' described the situation.
"I got here last week (August 3rd), and it was business as usual," he said. "I was coming down to check on the bar and my team to do our normal meetings ... It was business as usual. Then on Tuesday, I woke up to no power. We can't open a bar or restaurant with no power."
Robb noted that the wind was progressively getting heavier with debris coming down the streets. When heading down to Lahaina, he said he noticed traffic was crowded. When he arrived on the highway, he noticed a small puff of smoke on a field.
"I thought, we get fires all the time and the fire department will have that out in no time," Robb said. "I get about a hundred feet down, and look in my rearview mirror, and all of a sudden, I see a huge cloud of smoke, and I thought, this doesn't look good."
Robb said it wasn't until he got on social media that he heard about fires and people being evacuated.
"It was so fast, and the winds were so bad that the flames were jumping 50 to 100 feet at a time."
He added, "To hear the horror stories of people having to run out their door as their house caught on fire, I have no words. My team members lost their houses, and that was just one community. The fire decided to take a whole new path and take on the entire town. In a matter of hours and minutes, an entire city and town of Lahaina is no longer. That includes the entire business community, and the entire home community. There are spotty houses that made it, but not really, because they got burned inside."
'The Dirty Monkey' was in operation for seven years.
Robb said, "The majority of our bars are in the Greater L.A. Area. My partner, Alen (Aivazian) has had a house out here, as a vocational home. Him and his partners wanted to get out of California for the first time, and why not do it here. There was a popular bar called, 'Moose McGillycuddy's,' and Alen got word that building was for sale. We were able to acquire that building.
'The Dirty Monkey' took about two years to get built and opened on December 28th, 2016.
"I moved out here as we were building it," Robb said. "I was here on the job site everyday, and it's my baby ... To know it's not there anymore and to know of the hard work, sleepless nights, and low voltage I ran in the entire place, it's sad."
When discussing the bar's popularity, Robb said, "we had no idea it would become an institution. The first one or two years, we were busy, but not real busy. Fast forward three to four years, we were the bustling place to watch NFL football, when we were on a plane coming to or from, people were like, 'you're wearing a Dirty Monkey hat. We're going there,' 'our son told us to go there,' 'our friends got engaged there,' 'you guys are just a staple.' Not just my place, but the community ... Everybody that's just part of the downtown community, it's going to be missed."
Over the course of Robb's time, he has been helping with delivering supplies and helping people in need.
Amber Windy, manager of 'The Wild Hare' and 'The Dirty Monkey,' described how she and her staff have been coping with the situation.
"As a business owner, it's definitely tough," she said. "We're definitely grateful that everybody is safe. The business is the last thing on our mind. It's about the safety and employees of our staff, and the fact that Matt is there to be hands-on is a blessing in a way, because he wouldn't want to be anywhere else as a business owner. You want to be there to check in on your people and your place. Here in Montana, the staff is tremendous, dedicated, and working even harder to make sure that everything is running smoothly to give him that piece of mind while he's away. The outreach and outpouring of love and kindness for this tragedy from our local town is beyond words. It's amazing."
"The Wild Hare' has been in business for just over a year. Windy said the community support has been strong in so many ways.
"It's such a tight-knit family in itself," she said. "We're so grateful to be a part of that. We hear a lot of things about how great 'The Wild Hare' is, and how much they love to come here ... We're proud of it, for sure."
If you wish to donate in support of 'The Dirty Monkey' and the people affected by the wildfires, click here to visit the GoFundMe page.
You can also send donations directly to 'The Wild Hare' located at 518 Central Avenue in Great Falls, 59401.
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