Gertie's Drive-Inn
1000 North Main
46°35'50.95"N
112° 1'57.12"W
Gertie's
Began as a Richardson Root Beer Franchise in 1949
First
Opened as Martello's
|
On May
18 1949, Jean and John Martello opened the Richardson Root
Beer franchise "Martello's Drive-Inn" at 1000 N.
Main. They sold out in 1952 to Gertrude A. Dorner Richeson
(1914-2004),
and her husband Bob. Gertie's Drive-In became a mainstay in
Helena for decades, and Gertie became known as "The Hamburger
Queen". Gertie's is still remembered fondly
by many Helenans. The "Gertie Burger" and Gertie's
turkey sandwiches are especially missed.
Richeson sold the business, and the "Gertie's"
name, in 1961 to Ralph A. Hahn.
|
Martello's 1949-1951
| Ad
for Martello's grand opening, May 18 1949. |
|
|
Opened
as Gertie's, 1952
Gertie's
Sign on North Main, Early 1950s
| Said "Gertie"
in a 2001 Independent Record newspaper feature: “My
mother cooked a 33-pound turkey every day and a roast and a
great big ham, and I would cook a big kettle of chili and all
of it would be gone by the end of the day. We made everything
ourselves and we dipped our own ice cream — no packaged
stuff at our place, not us, course there wasn’t any back
then really.” |
Gertie's seasonal
closing ad, 1952.
Gertie
Sells to Ralph A. Hahn, 1961
Photo courtesy of Aimee Hahn March
| Matchbook
from Gertie's Drive-in, 1960s, with the legend "Recommended
by Ralph A. Hahn". Hahn (1923-1985) was the owner then;
he also jointly owned the Sky-Hi Drive-in Theatre east of Helena.
Hahn was a real estate broker who had interests in other enterprises
in the Helena and Lincoln areas, including the Hofbrau on Euclid
Ave. Hahn sold out to Curtis and Helen Brown in 1972. They operated the restaurant until 1991. |
Grand
Opening of the New Gertie's, May 22 1962
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Three Photos of Gertie's, 1964
Courtesy of Aimee Hahn March
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Gertie's, circa 1992
COURTESY OF J. M. COOPER • CLICK
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Gertie's was owned and operated by Curtis and Helen Brown from 1972 to 1991. The restaurant was extensively damaged by a grill fire in September of 1991, and closed shortly thereafter.The building was converted into offices.
In April of 2025, the building was demolished (along with the adjacent former McGafficks's Husky service station) to make way for a five-story Stockman Bank building.
|
Gertie's Building, January 2025
Pre-demolition photos by Patty Dean
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ON FIRST IMAGE FOR BIG VERSIONS IN A NEW WINDOW
Demolition Photos by Tom Kilmer
April 2025
Planned
Cushing Terrell Architecture, Engineering and Design Firm
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