Three Bear Restaurant | Three Bear Lodge – West Yellowstone, MT

The Three Bear Restaurant has a history almost as rich as the lodge itself. It first began as the Teepee Bar and Café back in the early days of the lodge. There was a bar in the front with a fireplace and a back bar where the salad bar now stands. The rear portion hosted a dance floor, and the green side was the cafe.

The Teepee was known as a lively bar and a place where you could dance. Some say most nights there were also “ladies of the night” in attendance, however, one could never know for sure if one man dressed like a woman or a real floozy.

Clyde Seely, Three Bear Lodge’s owner, and Bill Howell bought the Teepee in 1978. Bill bought the bar license and together they continued to run it as is for a few years before converting the café to a Chinese café. This didn’t work, so the café was leased out to a person who put in an entertainment center.

Eventually, Bill sold his share of the café to Clyde, who put a complete new roof on first and then gutted the entire building to the studs. This was done because the original Three Bear Restaurant would only seat 75 people. Expansion was required, and we can now seat over 150 in the restaurant and about 40 in the lounge.