Sheridan’s Famous Main Street A Bucket-List Item For Lovers Of All Things Western

SHERIDAN — When Sheridan resident Bob Grammens was recently visiting the Ozarks, a region in Missouri, he did what a lot of tourists do. He bought a sweater at Lake of the Ozarks. Then he gave the store clerk his ZIP code, and that’s when something unusual happened. 

“She goes, ‘Sheridan, Wyoming,’” Grammens said. “I’ve always wanted to go there. It’s on my bucket list, I want to go there. Can you tell me what it’s like?”

Grammens was only too happy to oblige. When it comes to talking about his town, he has a lot of stories to tell. The place he started with, though, is the same one he always starts with when he wants to showcase his town to Sheridan visitors.

Main Street.

With dozens of unique shops and businesses, including some that go back as far as 117 years, Sheridan’s Main Street has something for everyone, Grammens said, and he’s all too happy to show it off any time he gets the chance. 

“I’ve lived here for 40-plus years,” he said, “And I’ve never heard anyone ever say, ‘Oh, I hated that place. I couldn’t wait to get out of there fast enough.’”

Sheridan’s Main Street shines, Grammens said, whether he’s talking to a regular would-be tourist from the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri, or a world-famous star like Grammy-winning singer Kathy Mattea.

“I was at a conference, and I was having a conversation with Mattea afterward,” Grammens said. “And she says, ‘Where are you from?’ When I said, ‘Sheridan, Wyoming,’ she goes, ‘Oh your downtown is spectacular! I love coming to perform at the WYO Theater.’”

Grammens was impressed by the fact Mattea had remembered the theater’s name. Mattea performs all over the world, going from stage to stage and theater to theater, he pointed out, yet she specifically remembers the WYO Theater, including its name.

Mattea is just one of the many famous people to perform at the charming WYO Theater, built in 1923 as a vaudeville venue called The Lotus. In 1929, it was the first Wyoming theater to feature a “talkie” — movies with sound. Others have included Garth Brooks, the Oakland Brothers and Lyle Lovett.

A show at the WYO Theater is a recommended bucket list item for anyone visiting Sheridan, Grammens said.

World-Famous Tourists Love Main Street

Sheridan’s Main Street makes an impression with tourists from around the world. You’ll see them taking photos of all the beautiful sculptures that line Main Street, ranging from cowboys shooting at invisible gunmen to women or children dancing or playing. Sometimes the tourists turn out to be quite famous.

Like the time Queen Elizabeth II herself took a stroll down Main Street in 1984.

The Queen came to visit former United States Senator Malcolm Wallop’s family at his 4,000-acre Canyon Ranch near Sheridan. Wallop’s sister, Lady Porchester, was the wife of Lord Porchester, who managed the royal horses.

While there, even she couldn’t resist a little sight-seeing on Main Street.

“The Queen made a big hit here in town,” Sheridan resident and local history buff Rex Arney said. “And she went to the Ritz (Sporting Goods Store), where Sam Mavrakis gave her a handmade graphite fishing rod and a box of flies to give to her husband, the prince.”

The Ritz Sporting Goods Store is no longer on Main Street, but the queen did go to one of Sheridan’s other Main Street staples, the world-famous King’s Saddlery, named after well-known saddle maker Don King, where she was either given or purchased some of the stamped leather items.

“I was checking, and his trophy saddles have been displayed around the country,” Arney said. “Like the Cowboy Hall of Fame, and a couple of other places. And the National Endowment for the Arts recognized him in 1991.”

King’s Saddlery includes the Don King Museum that is stuffed full of just about any and every Cowboy or Wild West artifact imaginable, as well as dozens of fancy saddles made over the years at the saddlery. In addition to the museum, there’s also a western-themed art gallery, and then there’s the saddlery itself, which is still selling most any item that cowboys need, as well as repairing leather items.

Don’t Forget The Mint

It’s not recorded whether the Queen’s stroll down Main Street included The Mint Bar, but that’s one of the must-see places in Sheridan, one that both Arney and Grammens recommend to visitors.

“That’s been the same business for 117 years,” Arney said. “And I don’t know exactly when that iconic neon sign was added, but every picture you see of the Mint, it obviously stands out.”

Indeed, the iconic cowboy sign, which is slightly different than Wyoming’s trademarked bucking bronco, is copyrighted — though it is one of the most photographed neon signs around. The bar is often crowded, and is a favorite watering hole for many, attracting a crowd almost every night during the summer. History hangs on the walls of the bar, and even from its ceiling. It’s well worth a trip, even if you don’t intend to drink any alcohol.

“I did do that one time,” Arney said. “It’s just a zoo but it’s a fun thing. It’s just the idea of walking through, that’s one of the things that people always feel like they’ve got to do at least one time.”

Arney personally enjoys the P.O. News & Flagstaff Cafe, a western-themed restaurant that has a great, hearty breakfast. It started out as a post office, newsstand, and cigar shop in 1916. It still is a cigar shop, though hearty, locally sourced restaurant fare is more the focus these days. 

Grammens, meanwhile, likes the Grinnell Street area, because it’s the center of a lot of Main Street’s activities, like the 3^rd Thursday Street Festival, the WYOJam, the annual Christmas Stroll, Sheridan Farmer’s Market, and the Wild West Wine Fest — essentially something for everyone in every season.

Be Anyone, Buy Anything

Shoe and clothing stores, sculptures, a pharmacy, historic bars and restaurants, — the Main Street is where a lot of entrepreneurial dreams have come together to create an unusual vitality. Many Main Streets in small town America are dying off, but not in Sheridan. In Sheridan, there’s an irresistible pull, and part of it is all the entrepreneurship that has filled up the town’s Main Street with bright and fun ideas.

The bike shop is next to a candle shop that’s next to a fine art gallery, and on and on it goes. That diversity is what visitors love, Grammens said, and residents, too. Sheridan’s Main Street is like a stage, where the world can come and be whoever it wants to be.

“You can be that cowboy from the Old West,” he said. “But you can also be that art person, who loves the arts. I’ve had people here from out of town, other broadcasters here from around the country, and when I show them the downtown, they’re just like, ‘Wow, this is the coolest place ever.’”

But it’s not just the present-day diversity that attracts. There’s also a history on Main Street that has its own allure. Whether it’s the Hotel Rex that was one of Sheridan’s last brothels, or the beautiful old historic Cady building, Main Street has listed almost 50 buildings in its historic downtown on the National Register.

Arney has spent a lot of time studying Sheridan’s oldest buildings as a photographer and one-time fine arts student. 

“No two buildings are exactly alike, and most of them have been around a long time,” Arney said. “Some have been remodeled, and in a couple of instances torn down and rebuilt. But so much of it is, at least on the outside, is not a lot different than 100 years ago.”

Old History Made New

Despite their age, owners down through decades have cared for these buildings, preserving their unique architecture, creating another aspect that lends Sheridan’s Main Street its charm.

Those efforts are continuing, too. Like the Cady building, where a new restaurant called Le Reve Restaurant & Raw Bar has  recently opened as part of a new vision for one of Sheridan’s oldest buildings, built in 1893.

The owner, Christer Johansson, fell in love with the building’s architecture and has decided to restore its interior to what he hopes will at least be a semblance of its former grandeur. He’s also adding onto the building itself, in keeping with the existing architecture, planning to bring a new boutique hotel to downtown Sheridan.

Johansson, too, is a fan of Sheridan’s Main Street. 

“(Sheridan has) got some beautiful buildings, the way they’ve been put together,” he said. “So, I think the charm of the architecture, to me, that’s a really big part of it.”

He hopes to bring vitality to Sheridan’s night life with some outdoor seating for Le Reve, and perhaps live music. 

“That’s my dream for this town, to just elevate our vitality a little bit more, and get people out on their feet instead of being in their cars.”

Contact Renee Jean at renee@cowboystatedaily.com

Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.