Monday was Jamie Barta’s last day managing the Star Bakery in Nevada City, but not by choice.
Nevada City is one of Montana’s premier historic sites, and the historic properties there are owned by the Montana Heritage Commission which is housed within the state Department of Commerce. In early December, the state suddenly canceled and reissued new leases for those businesses that were alarming for most, and financially impossible to accept for some.
Barta will be vacating his position at the Star Bakery in Nevada City because of the new lease which requires him to share 15% of the revenue with the Heritage Commission, which is tasked with preserving and managing the historic sites of Virginia City, Nevada City and Helena’s Reeder’s Alley. He explained that he previously did not share any of his revenue with the state, and that he can’t sustainably run the business while doling out that amount of revenue annually. “It’s just too much money,” he said.
The Department of Commerce recently announced plans to rejigger leases at these historic sites to make them more uniform and to improve the commission’s financial situation…