New Callahan's under construction

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Jason Weaver trims a wall stud for the rebuilding of Callahan's Tuesday. Owners Ron and Donna Bergquist hope to reopen their restaurant in time for next year’s crop of summer tourists.Jamie Lusch

October 10, 2007

By Greg Stiles

Mail Tribune

The race is on to get Callahan's Restaurant back in action before the 2008 tourism season.

The landmark restaurant located near the Mount Ashland exit on Interstate 5 has been a source of memories and dreams, if not dining and lodging, since fire leveled the establishment 13 months ago.

With county approval and permits now in hand, Callahan's owners Ron and Donna Bergquist are rushing forward on a nearly $4 million rebirth project aimed at recognizing the inn's nostalgic past and its present demand.

"We addressed two constraints," says Ron Bergquist. "The first was to make it as compatible and consistent with people's memories as we could; that was our prior restraint for making changes. The other was from what we've discovered during 12 years of operation, what we felt the market really needed and how we could best meet the market."

That led to a design intended to charm long-time clients and intrigue newcomers, he says.

"There were times when we said 'If only we had a bigger banquet area,' or wished we had more rooms after we booked up all our rooms so quickly," Bergquist says.

The new Callahan's will start with 19 suites — more than double the former offering — and swell to 22 as soon as the Bergquists' present residence is remodeled into three suites.

The finished project will encompass 27,000 square feet and rise four stories. The banquet room will be three times bigger than the old one, with seating for 150 people in tables of eight. As a meeting room, it could hold up to 200 people.

The former layout featured a large dining room, a banquet area and a lounge. The new design will feature three private dining areas capable of seating 10 to 22 guests.

"We had no rooms to seal off and give total audio and light control before," Bergquist says.

One element that extended the planning process was the addition of four cabins and five cottages across the parking lot in space previously used for recreational vehicles.

The cabins are styled similar to those used by Alaskan trappers, with overhanging front porches. The cottages feature vaulted ceilings with lofts and enough sleeping space for eight people.

What most people envision when they think of Callahan's is just a part of the overall property that supports the enterprise. In addition to the 2.6-acre lodge, residence and parking area, there are 20 acres across old Highway 99 used for sewage treatment and 26 more acres across the freeway connected to a 3-inch water line that provides 30,000 to 50,000 gallons daily depending on the season.

"The most water we've used in one given day is 5,000 gallons," Bergquist says. "We average 2,000 gallons a day and it seeps right out of the Mount Ashland granite."

The water line is now gravity fed. The old pump system at the site was useless to fight the Sept. 2, 2006, fire that reduced the restaurant to ashes.

"The first thing we did when the fire started was to cut the electricity," Bergquist says. "That meant we couldn't pump water."

Fire requirements for the new building call for a flow of 250 gallons a minute for an hour at a constant flow rate.

Bergquist estimates lost revenue during the 20-month hiatus at around $2.5 million, and earnings that would have been put back into development of the property at around $200,000 to $300,000.

Bergquist says the rebuild has taught him lessons in patience and reassured him of the community's support for his endeavor.

Site plans were delivered to the county planning department Oct. 8, 2006, and architectural drawings submitted in March. Approval came in August and funding from the Commercial Investment Trust finalized construction financing last Thursday.

Bob Taylor of New Age Builders is working with Bergquist on the project. Much of the furniture for the restaurant and guest rooms has been built in an adjacent shop, and the western main floor wall along the dining area is framed.

"We're wracking our brains how to get the roof on by January," Bergquist says. "Even if we have to use tar paper for sub-roofing we need to get the inside dried. It's going to be a real challenge to get it done by May.

"There has been so much outflow of emotion and devotion to this old place. We have people stop by several times a day wanting to know when we're going to be ready again. This has been an important rendezvous point for people from Northern California and Southern Oregon for 60 years, and we've served a lot of spaghetti to tired, cold, wet skiers."

Even with the nothing but stone hearths jutting out of the ground, Pacific Crest Trail hikers still find their way to Callahan's as they have for years.

"We went ahead and cooked dinner and breakfast for a lot of them at our house," Bergquist says. "Those hikers haven't had a decent meal for two or three months. They come in hungry and dirty. We've built a bathroom and shower in the shop, they camp on the lawn and then we take them back to the trail the next day."

He's hoping to show hikers his new showplace next summer.

Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4463 or e-mail business@mailtribune.com.

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