BUTTE - Headframe Spirits is celebrating its 10-year anniversary with a party for the Butte community.
The owners look forward to helping the revitalization of Uptown Butte with future projects.
"Someone said how would you describe Butte and I said, 'well Butte’s a big damn deal,' and they sort of looked at me and cocked their head and I saw it in their eyes and I’m just gonna say that from now on," said John Mckee, co-owner of Headframe Spirits.
It’s been 10 years since Headframe Spirits opened its doors in Butte.
Owners John and Courtney Mckee opened one of the largest distilleries in Butte in 2016 and are proud of its success.
"That facility really is hoppin’ every day and it’s where I work most of my days and we just, we’re going full speed up there," said John.
The success of the distillery stoked the flames of their ambitious goal to transform the Kelley Mine yard into a place the community can enjoy which was first presented to the council of commissioners in 2014.
"When we presented it: the concepts of putting public space up there, of revitalizing that corner of the Uptown, all of those things are still ongoing and their things we continue to add on year by year," said John.
Karen Byrnes, Butte-Silver Bow’s community development director, says she has seen a lot of buildings come back to life thanks to revitalization programs and projects in Uptown Butte.
"We have a lot of infrastructure here in Butte that allows us to build upon that and a lot of that is in our amazing buildings and our stock of those buildings and making sure that they are preserved in a way that allows them to be reused," said Byrnes.
Courtney Mckee says it’s exciting to contribute to Butte’s growth and development.
"Facilities like the Kelley are ripe for adaptive reuse. All of these buildings were built with a purpose and finding new ways to utilize them is one of the most fun things in the world," said Courtney.
The celebration will begin on Sept. 21 at 5 p.m. and will feature music, food vendors, and more.
