Mill Street now offers Western dancing on two weeknights in a row. On Wednesdays, The Westerner teaches swing and two-step from 7 to 8 p.m. and then hands the floor to a live band until 10. On Thursdays starting October 22, the Gallatin Gateway Community Center at 145 Mill St. holds a Western Dance Class from 7 to 11 p.m. Next door to The Westerner, Stacey's and El Gallo Cantina keep the kitchens going around both nights.
Most of that schedule is recent, and it started with the purchase of a bar that's been on the street since 1937.
The empty lots that came with Stacey's
Brett Evje bought Stacey's Old Faithful Bar, founded in 1937, in 2020. When he and his partners closed on it, the deal also included the empty lots next to the building. The Westerner went up on those lots.
According to the Bozeman Daily Chronicle's opening-week story, the whole idea grew out of a horseshoe-shaped wooden sign of a man on a bucking bronco. Evje had bought it years earlier in Bottineau, North Dakota. A copy of that sign now hangs at the center of the back bar. The dance floor is sunk two steps down, and a stage runs along the far wall. The upstairs was built as employee housing.
The same story said the front of the building would house a taqueria, El Gallo Cantina, with regular lunch and dinner hours so the space would stay busy on nights without events. El Gallo is open now at 304 Mill St., right next to Stacey's, and currently serves dinner only.
Evje grew up locally. He went to Monforton School and told the Chronicle he lives "right down the street." He also gave his reason for building here:
"It's a little, great community that has been here forever, tucked off the road. This community has always and will probably always feel authentic and real."
His restaurants in Bozeman have done well too. Mountain Outlaw reported in August that Evje and his business partner, Michael Ochsner, were 2026 James Beard Award semifinalists for outstanding restaurateurs, for Plonk and J.W. Heist. The Gateway block is where the Western side of his work shows most.
How the week lays out
With three businesses on one block, each on its own schedule, every night of the week looks a little different. Here's the week from posted hours and calendars:
- Monday: Stacey's bar opens at 3 p.m. The kitchen is closed. El Gallo doesn't post Monday hours.
- Tuesday: Stacey's kitchen opens at 4 p.m. and El Gallo runs 4 to 9.
- Wednesday: Stacey's serves from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., El Gallo runs 4 to 9, and The Westerner holds Adult Swing Wednesdays from 7 to 10.
- Thursday: Stacey's and El Gallo keep their weekday hours. From October 22, the community center's Western Dance Class runs 7 to 11 p.m.
- Friday and Saturday: El Gallo stays open until 10, and The Westerner books bands. For regular live music, doors open at 8:30 and the band starts at 9. For ticketed shows, doors open at 7 and music starts at 8.
- Sunday: Stacey's kitchen runs 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. El Gallo doesn't post Sunday hours.
Stacey's asks diners to call ahead to confirm kitchen hours and the menu. Treat the times above as the usual schedule.
The Wednesday night is specific about what it is. The Westerner's page says the series is "Just Western Swing and Two step like it should be." It costs $15 per person or $25 per couple, and it's 21 and over, with no line dancing and no DJ. The page says the lessons run every Wednesday. The homepage, though, has shown the event on some September dates and not others, so check the calendar before you go.
Dinner before the band
The dinner menu at Stacey's starts at 5 p.m. It's built around premium local and regional Angus beef, with New York strip, ribeye, prime rib, tenderloin and flat iron. For something quicker before a 7 p.m. lesson, there's a prime rib sandwich and Stacey's Burger, a half-pound patty with cheddar, bacon, onions, mushrooms and barbecue sauce. In May, Explore Big Sky columnist Rachel Hergett wrote that Stacey's is the one place she knows where you can always find Rocky Mountain oysters. She also noted the bar still uses namesake Stacey Crosby's line, "where the West is still the West."
El Gallo's current menu has tacos with birria, al pastor, pollo, camarones, chorizo or carne asada. It also has house-made chips and salsa, guacamole, queso blanco and nachos. The larger plates are pozole verde, a burrito mojado and a six-ounce carne asada, and dessert is churros with ancho-chocolate dipping sauce. On the drinks list are a Salesville margarita, a carajillo and a paloma, with Bozone Fiesta on draft next to Modelo and Pacifico. El Gallo also takes online orders and can be reached at 406-296-1900.
October is the busiest month on the calendar
As of today, The Westerner has posted 11 October shows. November has no posted dates yet, and the only December show listed so far is on the 19th. Here's October as posted:
- Friday, Oct. 2: Cody Bartels Band, $15 cover
- Saturday, Oct. 3: Gannon Fremin & CCREV, $20 advance, $25 day of show
- Friday, Oct. 9: Trent Brooks Band, $15 cover
- Saturday, Oct. 10: Kalyn Beasley & The Honky Tonk Arcade, $15 cover
- Friday, Oct. 16: Ryan Chrys & the Rough Cuts, $15 cover
- Saturday, Oct. 17: Ian Thomas & The Band of Drifters, $15 cover
- Thursday, Oct. 22: The Takes with Jampoke, $20 advance, $25 day of show
- Friday, Oct. 23: Blake Brightman Band, $15 cover
- Saturday, Oct. 24: Western Skies, $15 cover
- Friday, Oct. 30: Vincent Neil Emerson with Dax Lindholm, $25 advance, $30 day of show
- Saturday, Oct. 31: Tanner Laws Band Halloween Bash, $15 advance, $20 day of show
Thursday, October 22, is the busiest night on the street. It's the first night of the community center's Western Dance Class, and The Westerner has a ticketed show the same evening. If you want a seat at Stacey's or El Gallo that night, call ahead.
The next date posted after Halloween is Chancey Williams on Saturday, December 19, at $25 in advance or $30 the day of the show. Like every Westerner event, it's 21 and over.
The community center's half of the street
The community center at 145 Mill St. runs its own October schedule, and every event on it is open to more than the dance crowd:
- Saturday, Oct. 10, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Highway Cleanup, meeting at the center.
- Sunday, Oct. 18, 1 to 4 p.m.: Little Bear Museum History Tour.
- Monday, Oct. 19, noon to 5:30 p.m.: Red Cross blood drive.
- Thursdays, Oct. 22, Oct. 29, Nov. 5 and Nov. 12, 7 to 11 p.m.: Western Dance Class.
On October 10, you could do the morning cleanup and then go back to Mill Street that evening for Kalyn Beasley & The Honky Tonk Arcade. The museum tour on October 18 is a quiet Sunday afternoon after a Saturday night with Ian Thomas & The Band of Drifters.
The center's calendar lists the Thursday class through November 12. It doesn't say what happens after that, so check before the holidays.
The intersection that's next
You get onto this block from US 191, and that turn is next in line for work. MDT's Mill Street Intersection Improvements project covers Mill Street, Rabel Lane and US 191 and would add a traffic signal, LED lighting, and a left-turn lane on the west side of the intersection. It also adds ADA-compliant sidewalk ramps at the Rabel Lane corners and a pedestrian path along the north side of Mill Street, running from the underpass trail to the existing school crossing. As of the project page's August 17, 2026 update, the work is still in design, with construction tentatively planned for 2027 depending on design, scheduling and funding. The money comes from the Highway Safety Improvement Program.
The work won't affect this fall's calendar. The project page takes comments through a hotline at 406-207-4484, open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and you can sign up for email updates as the project moves along.
Before you head out, check The Westerner's calendar, the community center's events page, and Stacey's for kitchen hours.
If a Wednesday lesson and dinner at Stacey's are part of why you're thinking about a home near Gallatin Gateway, or why you'd rather not leave, I'd be glad to talk it through. Callie Pecunies can prepare a personalized market valuation or a curated list of homes within an easy drive of Mill Street.
