Compton of the Palace Bar retiring after long career

After decades on the job, Palace Bar Owner Jupe Compton is selling the business and retiring soon.

Compton says leaving is bittersweet and he's enjoyed his time at the Palace immensely, but he's had a good run and it's time for the next generation to take over.

"It's been quite a ride," he said. " ... (But) it's a young person's game and I'm far from a young person."

Compton is 75 years old and has spent most of those years as the bar's owner after buying it from his father in 1974.

He said he did janitorial work at the bar when he was a freshman in high school and his father, Ward Compton, was still the owner 61 years ago. This was five years before the bar moved to its current location.

"My dad always said if you take care of the Palace, the Palace will take care of you, and nobody got rich but it always kept beans on the table and we always had a roof over our head," he said. "I've been really blessed."

There was a stretch between 1983 and 1989 when Compton sold the business the first time, but he was still around all the time during those years and eventually bought it back.

During that time he spent a year teaching, which he really enjoyed, but the wages could barely support his family's grocery bills. He added that he's glad teaching wages have gone up since then.

Compton said his family has been supportive and his health is still good, two more things for which he feels blessed.

He said the industry has seen a lot of changes over the years but a constant has been the importance of having a good crew, and he's fortunate to have had a great one that made him feel successful, not just as a businessman but also as a manager.

The bar has been a great business, but it has seen hard times, especially with the pandemic going on.

He said the bar did suffer a lack of income during the temporary shutdowns early in the pandemic, and operation in the immediate aftermath of that time was tricky due to hours-of-operation restrictions, but government grants helped them get through it.

It was also rough for him personally, Compton said, having come close to death from the disease himself.

He said he spent three-weeks in the hospital with COVID-19 and praised the staff of Northern Montana Health Care who not only saved his life, but provided wonderful care besides.

Compton has been a huge presence in the bar industry locally, having served as the Hi-Line Tavern Association's president for seven years in the past.

Former owner of the Oxford Sports Bar, and long-time friend of Compton, Russell DeVries, who was also the president of the organization for some time, said Compton was the best president they ever had.

DeVries said despite being heated competitors in the same industry they were also very good friends and have been for a very long time.

"I don't remember ever not being his friend," he said.

He said Compton and he would often take road trips to NCAA games with mutual friends, one of which was a frequent customer at both of their establishments who wondered how they managed to be such good buddies despite being business rivals.

"We said the reason we brought him along was because both of us were afraid to leave him with the other barman, afraid they'd try to steal him," he said laughing.

DeVries has been retired for about four years and is happy that Compton can finally walk away from the business for some well-earned rest.

"It had to happen sooner or later," he said. "He had a good run there, he and his dad before him. Had a lot of good times in the Palace Bar, but he decided the time had come to quit, the young whippersnapper."

Compton wasn't just a member of the tavern association on the Hi-Line. He served as a president and chairman of the Montana Tavern Association where he was well-liked, as well.

John Hayes of the Cascade County Tavern Association worked with Compton on the state level and called him "one of my favorite people."

Compton said when he got to the state level he came to realize how great his own local association was, one that got along and worked together, which isn't always the case in other places.

He said the work done at the local level is important. Keeping up with the community, holding fundraisers and things like that are part of what the Palace Bar and the association do.

But on the state level, he said, it's important to keep up with the politics in Helena and make sure they keep in touch with legislators.

He said the state is not their enemy by any stretch of the imagination, but they need to keep an eye on things to make sure bills proposed in the Legislature don't have unintended consequences to their businesses.

Compton said it's also important to keep up with the shifting regulations which are intended to protect people, but sometimes have effects legislators don't foresee.

He said he didn't want to get too deep into the politics of the state, but he does think that term limits make it harder to do these things because they're always developing relationships with new legislators instead of dealing with ones who are familiar with their industry and concerns already.

As for his retirement, Compton said, he doesn't have anything in particular planned but believes he's leaving the bar in capable hands.

He said the young couple he sold the bar to have experience in the hospitality industry, and while some changes may come with new ownership, they've told him that they want to keep things as they are for the most part.

He said he's outlasted most of his generation in the local bar industry, but it's time for a younger generation to take over.

When asked if there was anything he learned during his years as bar owner he joked that it was hard to learn anything he didn't already know, but said over the years the business has helped him become a more patient person.

"Just when you think you have it figured out, you find you don't. So any time you think you have it all figured out, you're barking up the wrong tree," he said. " ... you learn a lot in life, even if you try not to."

Despite his retirement, he said, he's still planning to continue playing pool there with his friends and having coffee in the morning, so he'll still be a common sight.

When asked if he had any stories that stuck out to him from his time at the bar he said there were many but joked that they may not be wise to discuss.

"I could probably talk for another month and a half, but an awful lot of them I don't think the statute of limitations is up," he said chuckling. " ... Most of the best stories that happen at the bar are better left at the bar."

Compton said all the paperwork for the new ownership has been signed and they're just waiting on the state's approval so it could be a few weeks or a few months before the deal is officially done. That kind of paperwork, he added, is the one thing he will not miss when he's gone.

The Palace Bar will be holding a retirement party for Compton Dec. 11 at 4 p.m.