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A local business member she had
been working with promised to take
care of everything while she went
through chemo and radiation.
Blanchard trusted Bruce Taylor —
enough that she never put anything in
writing. Taylor is a familiar name in Sa-
lem-Keizer business circles and the for-
mer publisher of the Salem Business
Journal.
A Statesman Journal investigation
revealed the restaurant under Taylor’s
management racked up $20,000 in
back lease payments and thousands
more in unpaid utilities and other bills
from July 2020 through August 2021.
For months, Taylor also publicly repre-
sented himself as the new owner.
Blanchard’s son, Bobby Miller,
stepped in after becoming suspicious,
and then literally discovered a bucket
full of unpaid bills.
“It’s hard to believe it happened and
that someone would do that, but my
mother trusted him,” Miller said. “He
took advantage of my mom.”
Blanchard, 74, was left with nothing
when she sold the business in Septem-
ber. The proceeds barely covered the
debt.
Miller said he also learned Taylor al-
legedly accepted a $40,000 check for
the sale of the business. The potential
buyer told the Statesman Journal he
found out Taylor was not the owner be-
fore making a second payment and has
since hired an attorney.
The attorney declined to speak to the
Statesman Journal for this story.
Taylor, 65, denied the allegations in a
March 9 call with the Statesman Jour-
nal. He said he bought the restaurant
from Blanchard and she repossessed it
“because she didn’t think I paid her
enough money.”
When asked if he had a record of the
sale, he said he did but refused to pro-
vide any documents to the newspaper.
He said the real estate broker at John L.
Scott could confirm the sale.
John L. Scott told the Statesman
Journal no one in its office ever handled
a sale between Taylor and Blanchard.
Taylor’s story changed during the
phone call with the Statesman Journal.
At one point, he said he came in as an
equal partner in the restaurant. He grew
increasingly angry at the questions be-
ing asked and made insults about Blan-
chard. He said he has cancer, too.
He eventually asked that questions
be emailed to him for his attorney to an-
swer. Neither Taylor nor his attorney re-
sponded to the emailed questions.
Cancer diagnosis puts business at
risk
Taylor first approached Blanchard
before the pandemic struck, wanting to
be involved in the operation of Court
Street Dairy Lunch. She said he told her
he wanted to learn the ropes, be part-
ners, maybe even find a potential buyer.
She had known Taylor for years. His
Salem Business Journal office was
across the street on the third floor of the
Reed Opera House, and Blanchard said
he ate at the diner at least once a week.
His offer to help gave her hope that
she might be able to finally retire.
Blanchard said the restaurant was
holding its own before the pandemic,
but it closed in March 2020 because of
COVID-19 restrictions.
Court Street Dairy reopened for to-go
orders in April, then for indoor dining in
May, and Taylor was alongside Blan-
chard learning how to run the restau-
rant. She never paid him.
As the business was getting back to
normal, Blanchard was diagnosed in
July with pancreatic cancer.
She said Taylor promised he would
take care of the day-to-day operations
for her while she pursued treatment.
Blanchard said they never discussed
what that meant exactly, and nothing
was put in writing. She said no money
was exchanged and there was no dis-
cussion about finances, including
whether Taylor would be paid or how
revenue would be handled.
But she trusted him, she said, not just
to pay bills but keep her informed of all
business matters.
Taylor told the Statesman Journal he
believed he was purchasing the restau-
rant.
Blanchard became consumed by
doctors, chemo and radiation appoint-
ments. She never asked anyone else to
verify that Taylor was making the
monthly lease payments and paying the
utility bills.
At one point, worried about the fate
of the restaurant if she died, Blanchard
asked Taylor to make sure her two sons
each received a share of any sale. She
said he told her he would, but her sons
wanted something in writing.
Miller said he tried to meet with Tay-
lor to discuss details, but Taylor can-
celed scheduled meetings twice, assur-
ing Miller he would have something
written up. It never happened, Miller
said.
They eventually met at the diner, and
Miller said Taylor sat down with a blank
piece of paper and took notes as if they
were discussing it for the first time.
When Miller left, he knew he had to
have an uncomfortable conversation
with his mom.
He started asking questions. She
didn’t have answers.
Taylor builds connections in
community
Taylor moved to Salem around 2005
and launched in June of that year the
Salem Business Journal, a free monthly
publication showcasing local business-
es.
“Join Salem’s top business leaders in
welcoming this vital new link to the
mid-Willamette Valley business com-
munity,” is how Taylor started his pub-
lisher’s letter in Volume 1, Issue 1.
The letter was accompanied by a
photograph of him in a jacket and tie.
Taylor entrenched himself in the
business community. He was a member
of the Salem/Keizer Business Alliance
and was involved with ShowBiz, the an-
nual trade show once organized by the
Salem Area Chamber of Commerce.
He built connections with movers
and shakers, producing a regular peri-
odical that provided a platform for busi-
nesses to advertise and business lead-
ers to connect.
Taylor eventually launched other
publications, including Salem Magazine
and The Local.
“He was old school in the way that he
did business, and a lot of people liked
that,” said Jonathan Castro Monroy,
who once was a contributing writer to
the Salem Business Journal and recent-
ly purchased it. “He always tried to sup-
port small businesses.”
The Statesman Journal discovered a
list of judgments and liens against Tay-
lor, stretching across 30 years and three
states — Oregon, California and Nevada.
Some records list his full name as Perry
Bruce Taylor, but Taylor always went by
Bruce in Salem.
He was a defendant in at least four
small claims lawsuits in Marion County
Circuit Court, according to court rec-
ords. One was filed by a billing collec-
tion agency, and two by people who
worked for him. The plaintiffs sought
judgments from about $400 to $1,100.
One plaintiff did graphic design for
the publication. She told the Statesman
Journal their working relationship had
soured and when she submitted her in-
voice. She informed him it would be her
last. She said Taylor was a no-show for
the court date and never paid the $1,120
default judgment entered in December
2005.
She let it go, but an automotive shop
owner in California has not. He has a
lien against Taylor from 1999 for more
than $1,000 of work done for Taylor.
With interest, the lien is now for more
than double that. It has been renewed
multiple times, most recently in 2016,
and is on record through at least 2026.
The list of judgments and liens in-
cludes three federal tax liens from the
1990s, for a total of more than $25,000
that has been released, meaning the
liens were either paid off or the IRS de-
cided not to pursue collection.
Questions of ownership surface
Blanchard was absent from the res-
taurant much of the time during her
cancer treatment.
She said Taylor once brought break-
fast to her home, and he visited her in
the hospital when she had complica-
tions.
She thought he was kind and had her
best interests at heart.
“He’s good at manipulating people,”
Blanchard said.
Ben Punley, a friend of Taylor’s and
former business partner with Salem
Business Journal, said Taylor told him
he was making payments to buy the res-
taurant for $75,000. Taylor told the
Statesman Journal he paid $40,000 to
buy the restaurant.
Punley said he had no reason to not
believe him, and Taylor was at the res-
taurant all the time.
“If he was trying to scam somebody,
he wouldn’t have worked that many
hours,” said Punley, who bought 50% of
the Salem Business Journal from Taylor
in late 2020. “You don’t work that hard if
you’re trying to scam somebody.”
Taylor told many people in the com-
munity he was the owner of Court Street
Dairy. He even had business cards
made.
He told the Statesman Journal during
interviews last year for two separate
stories that he was the restaurant’s
owner. Online Oregon Business Registry
documents checked at the time to con-
firm his statement appeared to verify
that.
Taylor was listed as the “Registered
Agent” in the database managed by the
Oregon Secretary of State’s Office. He
still is.
Court Street Dairy’s business name
had expired, which Blanchard was un-
aware of. The renewal notice sent by the
Secretary of State’s Office on Nov. 11,
2020, went to the restaurant.
Her registration became inactive Feb.
25, 2021, making the business name
available to anyone.
Taylor filed an application for regis-
tration June 9, according to registry rec-
ords. Blanchard said she did not autho-
rize him.
“To me, it’s just mindboggling that he
was able to go in and put the license in
his name because it was expired,” her
son said.
Taylor’s electronic signature on the
registration follows a four-sentence
declaration including this: “Making
false statements in this document is
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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 27, 2022
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3A
against the law and may be penalized by
fines, imprisonment, or both.”
A representative from the Secretary
of State’s Office said there is no process
to verify renewal information and re-
ports of disputed ownership are rare.
“Our office is ministerial, and any
conflicts are addressed as a civil matter,”
Jaime Weddle-Jones of the Corporate
Division wrote in an email to the States-
man Journal.
The Statesman Journal has corrected
both stories that inaccurately men-
tioned Taylor as the owner of the diner.
quested but never saw any bank rec-
ords.
The deal began to unravel when Blan-
chard stopped by the diner one day,
which she sometimes did after chemo
appointments. She introduced herself
to someone as the owner, which Rep-
plinger’s wife overheard.
That led to questions, and Repplinger
said Taylor eventually admitted he did
not own the restaurant.
Dreams of selling, expanding
business
After Miller’s conversation with Tay-
lor, he told his mom she needed to meet
with Taylor at the restaurant and find
out what was going on.
Blanchard and Taylor sat down in a
booth in June and, after introducing
herself to a new server as the owner, she
couldn’t believe Taylor’s reaction. She
said he claimed he was the owner now.
She said she was shocked and con-
fused. She didn’t know what to say, so
she got up and left.
Blanchard said Taylor handed her a
$250 check during that visit, although
she said she didn’t know what it was for.
She never cashed the check, which was
from an account of the Salem Business
Journal.
She said that was the only time he
ever gave her a check. He occasionally
would give her cash from the restaurant,
$100 here and there. She estimated he
gave her about $1,100 from November
2020 to May 2021.
Taylor repeatedly reported to her that
business was down and no money was
coming in, Blanchard said.
Blanchard returned to the diner a
week or so after their conversation
about ownership, accompanied by a
friend.
She said Taylor again was adamant
about being the owner and became de-
fensive when she asked what made him
think he owned the restaurant. They
were seated next to each other in a
booth, and she remembers him grab-
bing her shoulders and physically turn-
ing her toward him.
At the time, Blanchard said she didn’t
consider the move aggressive. The
friend asked a couple of questions be-
fore they left, and Blanchard said Taylor
never did try to explain his claim.
Blanchard again left with no an-
swers.
Her son wishes he would have
stepped in sooner. But his mom trusted
Taylor, and it was her business.
Miller showed up unannounced at
the restaurant on Aug. 25 to confront
Taylor had grand plans for Court
Street Dairy Lunch.
He told a Statesman Journal reporter
how he wanted to buy the Willamette
Queen sternwheeler and make it an ex-
tension of the restaurant. He discussed
options with a local mortgage broker, in-
cluding his interest in buying the build-
ing where the diner is located, even
though it wasn’t for sale.
He previously discussed with Blan-
chard the idea of bringing in others to
support or buy the restaurant and
reached out to at least one prominent
resident in town, asking for financial
help to keep the restaurant afloat.
Taylor told Blanchard Salem-Keizer
Public Schools was interested in buying
the business. The district would use the
diner as a training facility for culinary
arts programs, he told her.
She said no one from the district ever
reached out to her to discuss the possi-
bility, even though multiple times Tay-
lor said he would arrange a meeting.
“I kept getting my hopes up, wonder-
ing when it was going to happen,” Blan-
chard said. “I’d call him, and he’d say we
had to postpone. There was always
something, an excuse, a reason it didn’t
go through.”
The school district confirmed two in-
dividuals who indicated they had a rela-
tionship with the owner of Court Street
Dairy approached a staff member. It is
unknown if one of them was Taylor. An
“off-the-cuff ” conversation about a res-
taurant partnership took place.
The idea appealed to the district, but
the individuals never followed up.
In late spring 2021, Taylor allegedly
arranged for the sale of the restaurant.
Don Repplinger wanted to buy the diner
for his wife, who had restaurant experi-
ence.
Repplinger, in his early 80s and from
a generation where a person’s word and
a handshake meant something, said he
wrote Taylor a $40,000 check and it was
cashed. The Statesman Journal re-
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