The Montana Cafe, A Downtown Icon

The Montana Cafe, A Downtown Icon

The Montana Café sign was the first neon sign in Hamilton and perhaps the first neon sign in Montana.  The Montana Cafe’s sign hung for decades outside the iconic Hamilton eatery at 134 W. Main Street.  And for decades, patrons confirmed the sign’s claim to serving “Good Eats.”  Until 1983 the café, operated by the Lee and Hom families, offered a Chinese- American menu in a clean-scrubbed, homey atmosphere.  Its most recent location was the one-story building, where today, Ford’s Department Store houses its womenswear.