General Mercantile experience goes deeper than caffeine and conversation -- it's a destination

Ray Domer is hard at work mixing cocoa powder into a gourmet blend of hot chocolate. Two tea-sized cups collect the savory drippings from an Italian espresso machine hissing behind the bar. The goldfish, which can't be overlooked, swim circles in a horse trough while a game of cribbage hits full swing -- never mind the early hour.

It's just after 8 a.m. on what may be the liveliest block of Last Chance Gulch in downtown Helena, a place where Domer has been in business for 34 years. His store, the General Mercantile, has become a mainstay and, you could say, an attraction unto itself.

"As kids we all grew up going to Virginia City, Nevada City and Frontier Town," Domer said, passing a vanilla latte across the bar. "My dad was a rancher at the foot of Mount Baldy. All this wood came from his ranch."

All that wood covers the wall and lends the store a touch of vintage charm. Here, it's an ever-changing mix of gifts and gadgets, candy and coffee. Like a theme park, the woodwork recalls a different era, true to Helena's dusty past. The music is never out of time: it's only fitting given that Domer once sold records.

Look up and you'll see a loft tucked neatly behind a Western storefront. When not rifling through Domer's candy display, kids climb into the cozy nook, one of many hideouts within the mercantile. But it's the finely brewed coffees, old-fashioned sodas and imported teas that draw the crowds.

Like a fine wine, coffee takes its time.

"I had my first espresso when I was 18 in Little Italy in Baltimore. It was awful," Domer said explaining how, in San Francisco, he ordered a cappuccino and became fascinated in the brewing process. "I went back and ordered another cup so I could watch the process again. I went back a third time and the guy finally said, 'Hey, where you from?' By then my leg was starting to bounce."

The coffee disappears with the hour. The crowd comes and goes and the cribbage game winds down. The conversation at the bar turns from "boys with their toys, especially federal agents," to in-laws and eventually a toned-down version of "Name That Tune." The coffee may be the jolt that starts the day, but it's the company that keeps the conversations running.

Domer pulls out an edition of Montana Magazine and slides it across the bar. The issue contains a nice little write-up on Domer's main attraction -- his espresso machines. Like everything else at the "General Merc," even these are vintage class, manufactured in faraway places by companies named Gaggia, Astoria and La Povina.

"The new machines have heating elements that run through them, giving you hot water on demand. But this has a big boiler that keeps the water at a constant heat."

The machine, Domer said, first went to work in Helena at the Glory Hole Restaurant. It started leaking and was cast aside. Domer found it shortly after.

"The machine was in pieces in the garage. I called the La Povina people and they said to throw it away because they didn't make parts for it anymore. They didn't make the gaskets that fit the pistons anymore. But we saved it." Even that required work. "It was all tooled in the British Commonwealth so we had to find a die set from the Commonwealth." Ten years after its restoration, La Povina called and asked if they could buy it back.

Between slicing bagels and brewing lattes, Domer hunts for deals on vintage items. An old phone hangs in the corner. Across the room an old cash register sits mounted over a money drawer. "You know what year that was made?" Domer asks. "It's 1913. It was built the same year my mother was born."

Domer only recently replaced the vintage register with a modern machine. "I got tired of doing books every night," he laughed, lamenting the long hours spent adding up the receipts. Now, the new register takes care of the dirty work -- that being the math.

The newfangled register leaves more time for Domer to mingle with his customers and friends. "You get to interact with people every day. You get to socialize every day of your life. It's pretty neat. This is a great business. People have a good experience and they come back every summer."

Reporter Martin Kidston can be reached at 447-4086, or at mkidston@helenair.com.