Golden Valley American Legion Making Moves to Stay Viable
At a time when American Legion posts are closing due to declining membership and financial difficulties, the Chester Bird American Legion in Golden Valley is making moves to secure a brighter future.
The Chester Bird American Legion post is in the midst of transforming a former Red Lobster on Highway 55 in Golden Valley, its future home.
“We literally gutted the entire building. The floors were replaced. The walls were replaced,” said Post Commander Craig Hartman.
Construction workers and volunteers with military backgrounds are helping to renovate the space.
“We are looking forward to being able to offer a new place for the community to come in an enjoy the recreation and the gaming activities that we have here,” said Tom Martin, a member of the Legion.
It wasn’t easy to leave their old location near Breck School, the Legion’s home since 1948.
But the school was looking to expand and worked with the post to get them the Red Lobster building.
“When they came to us with this, we thought this was fantastic because on a scale of one to ten this was a nine,” said Hartman.
The legion’s new digs is more visible from the highway and offers more space.
There will be a large bar, indoor and outdoor restaurant seating, as well as space for events.
“It’s about three times as big,” said Hartman.
Commander Hartman hopes it will draw more customers, keeping the post viable.
“I think on a retail basis, in order to survive, we had to find where we could run a strong retail operation, this will give us that opportunity,” said Hartman.
And by staying in business, the post can continue raising money through its on-site, charitable gambling.
“There’s a lot of veterans that need help,” said Hartman.
The Chester Bird American Legion plans on serving lunch and dinner at its new location.
A soft opening is scheduled for mid-September or early-October.
Breck Campus Expansion Update
According to a statement from a Breck School representative, in the short-term, Breck does not plan to immediately move in or make use of the old Chester Bird American Legion structure.
Currently, no specific decisions have been made regarding the future of the site.
Breck’s Board of Trustees is actively working on identifying and outlining a vision for the campus expansion.
Breck School
