Gunnison History Tracker
222 Elk Avenue
Wooden Nickel
After the fire 1985.
This building was erected in 1929 by Martin Spritzer Sr., and his sons. The building was constructed for two miners, Peter
Maumich and Chris Vuletich. It was one of seventeen bars operating in Crested Butte by the late 1920s. They later sold
the building to Bill Starika, who owned and operated a bar until about 1950. Starika was known for keeping a 4.5 pistol
behind the bar which he fired into a wooden stump to waken drowsy customers. In 1951, Starika sold the building to Tony
Kapushion, who operated it as Tony's Tavern. Kapushion was a Crested Butte native. According to George Sibley, he is
known among his peers as the first to be ready and the last to go down at either a party or a fight. Kapushion had a
ranch on the north-east edge of Crested Butte. In 1967, Kapusion sold the tavern to Don Bachman. Bachman continued to
operate the bar as Tony's Tavern until 1971. He then sold the property to Ric Holderith, who changed the name to the
Wooden Nickel.
