OUR STORY
More Than 70 Seasons of Famously Fresh Beefburgers
Where It All Started
THE FIRST OF ITS KIND IN PARK COUNTY
In 1954, a man named Mart Phillips opened a small drive-in at the corner of 8th and Park Street in Livingston, Montana. He called it Mart's In & Out, and a newspaper ad from that era proudly announced it as “The First Of Its Kind In Park County” and “The Drive-In With the Voice!”
The original menu was as straightforward as the business itself. A Beef Burger cost 29 cents. A Super Burger went for 39 cents. A basket of fries was just 24 cents. The doors were open every single day from 11 in the morning until midnight, and Livingston had its very own walk-up, drive-in burger spot, complete with white tile walls and a hand-lettered sign.
From the beginning, Mart's was built around a simple idea: serve fresh, honest food in a building that felt like it belonged in this town. No gimmicks, no franchises. Just burgers, fries, and shakes made right in front of you.
The original newspaper ad, circa 1954
The original building in its early days
The early days under the Black brothers
1980
JUST CHANGE THE T TO A K
In 1980, brothers Mark and Scott Black purchased the drive-in from Mart Phillips. The transition could not have been simpler. They changed the “T” in Mart's to a “K,” and Mark's In & Out was born. Everything else stayed exactly the same.
And that was very much on purpose.
“Resist change. That's our motto.”
Scott Black, Co-Owner
The Black brothers understood something that most people in the restaurant business spend years trying to figure out: when you have something real, you protect it. You don't modernize it. You don't expand it. You keep doing what works, season after season, and you let the place speak for itself.
“I think the magic is that it's an original.”
Scott Black
The Unchanged Experience
WHAT MAKES IT SPECIAL
Every patty at Mark's is hand-formed from 100% Montana beef, sourced from Diamond N Meats. The ice cream comes from Wilcoxson's, a Montana creamery that has been making ice cream since around 1914. You walk up to the window, place your order, and watch your food get made right in front of you. There is no drive-through lane, no app, no kiosk.
On summer weekends, carhops on roller skates deliver food to customers in the parking area. The red tile bench wraps around the perimeter of the building, giving you a front-row seat to life on Highway 89. The classic white tile walls and red-and-white striped awning look the same as they did decades ago.
And then there are the neon signs. The main “BEEFBURGERS” sign glows above the roofline, with smaller neon panels underneath reading “ONION RINGS,” “MALTS,” “HOT DOGS,” and “FLOATS.” Each one is a piece of the original character that has made this place a landmark.
Everyone who works at Mark's becomes part of the family. It is a small operation and always has been. The people behind the counter know the regulars, remember what they order, and treat every customer the way you'd treat a guest at your own house.
Picture This
THE EXPERIENCE
Some things never change
It is a summer evening in Livingston. The sun is going down behind the Absaroka Range, and the neon signs at Mark's flicker on one by one. First the big red BEEFBURGERS. Then ONION RINGS. MALTS. HOT DOGS. FLOATS. The whole building lights up against the Montana sky, and suddenly you feel like you have stepped into a different decade entirely.
You hear the crackle and sizzle of burgers on the flat-top grill before you even reach the window. The smell of fresh-griddled beef and hot fries fills the air. You place your order, grab a spot on the red tile bench that wraps around the building, and settle in. Across the street, kids are throwing a ball around in Sacajawea Park, five acres of green right in the middle of town.
Families come here after Little League games. Tourists headed for Yellowstone National Park pull off the highway when they see the sign. Folks from Livingston stop by the same way their parents did, and their grandparents before that. On summer weekends, you might see a carhop on roller skates glide by with a tray of malts.
Scott Black once compared the building to a classic car: “There just aren't too many of them left.” He's right. The drive-in as a concept is largely a relic, but Mark's is the real thing, still running, still serving, still exactly what it was built to be.
Still Going Strong
70+ SEASONS AND COUNTING
Mark's In & Out has been open every season since 1954. The schedule follows baseball season: spring training through the World Series, roughly April through October. When the weather warms up and the neon lights come back on, Livingston knows that summer has officially arrived.
“Nostalgia never goes out of style.”
Scott Black
After more than seven decades, the burgers still taste the same, the building still looks the same, and the feeling of walking up to that window on a warm Montana evening is still exactly the same. Some things are better left unchanged.
COME SEE US
Open Seasonally: April through October
Wednesday through Sunday, 11 AM to 8 PM
Corner of 8th & Park on Highway 89/10
Livingston, Montana