This place has every single dive bar requirement and more. The Dive Bar Tourist was astounded and delighted when Rustic Hut employee Desiree wrote to us. We’ll give you a tiny taste of what’s to come in this write up:
The bar’s website is thecarpetbar.com.
Do you really need to know more? No! Get your butts to Florence, Montana immediately.
It has this nickname because it was opened in 1973 and has retained its…vintage charm, shall we say? There is carpet on the ceiling.Wood paneling all over the place. Apparently, some have said the carpet looks diseased, so the good-humored (though admittedly “brash” and capable of giving “a verbal beating,” per Desiree) bartenders created a drink that tastes like amoxicillin.
Yes, that’s carpet on the ceiling
The Rustic Hut obviously lives up to its name. It is rustic.But, as any dive enthusiast can guess, this place makes up for its barebones (bare wood paneling?) décor in heart. You can’t keep an unchanged 1970s bar in business, even in rural Montana, without some loyal regulars. Desiree paints a picture that we want to experience, live and in person.
An employee must really love their job to write in about it with so much passion, and Desiree proves it by mentioning how awesome the place, the people, and her bosses are. She mentions that the general manager, Joe, is quick to give people a chance to work at The Rustic Hut, but “only the strong survive” and most of the training is provided by loyal locals!
This treasure of a bar provides endless entertainment in the form of live music, bingo nights, trivia nights, and karaoke. Desiree tells us one of the (male) bartenders regularly hops up on the bar to sing Britney Spears.
There are dives with sullen patrons and cranky staff that are loved the way a grouchy, but endearing, uncle might be. The Rustic Hut is the fununcle. The new owners took over just last November and totally reinvigorated the staff and the energy of the place (but thankfully did notrenovate). They’ve been hit hard by the coronavirus shutdown, and before that by a toiletshutdown.
Apparently, the sewer backed up a while back, so the boss brought over his motor home a.k.a. “the dive bar beauty queen” a.k.a Feliciaso, that patrons would have a place to use the bathroom. If that tells us anything, it’s that these guys are inventive, they rise to a challenge, and they’re gonna be just fine.
We didn’t even get to mention the food! Pizzas, burgers, burritos, soup, sandwiches…They’ve got it all, and it’s all good! There’s patio seating available, TV, darts, a pool table, a dance floor…You could basically live here.
And, thanks to Felicia, you’ll even have a bed to sleep in.
Thanks again for letting us know about your amazingdive bar, Desiree!
Location: Florence, Montana
Be sure to try: Tequila Rose and Fireball (the amoxicillin drink!)
