REGION
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
East Oregonian
Page 3A
ARLINGTON
Tollgate Store & Restaurant, closed
since June, draws potential buyers
Business remains
closed, up for sale
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
The Tollgate Store &
Restaurant is drawing interest
from potential buyers after
closing permanently earlier
this year.
Located on Highway 204
between Weston and Elgin in
Umatilla County, the Tollgate
Store was the only place on
the mountain to stop for food,
drinks and supplies until
owner Jeff Pinsker decided to
close its doors in June.
Pinsker is trying to sell
the store, which he ran for
10 years by himself while his
business partner, Dylan Van
Dyke, lives in California.
Ultimately, Pinsker said the
day-to-day operations were
too much for one person to
handle.
“I want it to be successful,”
Pinsker said. “I just got
burned out on it.”
The store is not sold yet,
though Pinsker said there are
“several” buyers interested.
He is optimistic about a deal
happening soon.
“It’s going to be awesome
for whoever buys it,” he said.
The 1.95-acre property
includes a main store and
restaurant,
two-bedroom
home upstairs, four rental
units out back and a shop
building. It also has two fuel
pumps, though they have
been out of service for at least
three or four years.
Bryan Wagner and Jacque-
line Boutell, of College Place,
Washington, have expressed
interest in buying the store,
with their goal to create
local jobs and provide badly
needed services in the Toll-
gate area. Tollgate is a haven
for outdoor recreation in the
Blue Mountains, featuring
everything from hunting and
fi shing to a downhill ski area.
“I see that it can service
a lot of people in the area,
from the Forest Service to
the campgrounds,” Boutell
said. “It does have a lot of
potential.”
But fi rst, Wagner said
there are a number of logis-
tical hurdles to overcome
— not the least of which is
the asking price of $450,000.
Umatilla County appraises
the property’s value at
$272,430, according to an
EO fi le photo
Tollgate Store proprietor Jeff Pinsker holds a copy of a Bigfoot cast that was given
to him by Clifford Barackman, star of the Animal Planet show “Finding Bigfoot,” at
his store in Tollgate in this January fi le photo.
EO fi le photo
The Tollgate Store marks the halfway point between
the towns of Weston and Elgin on Highway 204.
assessor’s report.
Wagner said he is trying
to schedule a meeting with
all partners involved to come
to an agreement on price,
and is willing to wait it out if
necessary.
“It isn’t a matter of if or
when. It’s a matter of at what
cost,” Wagner said.
Even if they are able to
purchase the store, Wagner
said there are other issues
that could tie up development
for years. He fi gures the
project could easily take 10
years and $1 million to do
everything they would like to
do with the property.
“This is like opening fi ve
businesses at once,” Wagner
said.
For starters, Wagner said
they would look to move the
grocery store into the separate
storage facility, stocking their
shelves with fresh, locally
grown food from the Walla
Walla Valley. That, in turn,
would allow them to have a
larger family-style restaurant
and bar.
Wagner said they would
also like to put the fuel
pumps back in service, which
he acknowledged would not
turn a profi t by themselves
but would help bring in more
customers off the highway
while providing an element
of convenience for residents
on the mountain.
Future phases of the
project may include adding
more rental cabins, Wagner
said. He is confi dent each
new service would go a long
way toward reinvigorating
Tollgate economically.
“I defi nitely think it’s
going to kick it back off,”
he said. “People who are
invested in Tollgate are not
leaving ... It’s their relief
from the working life.”
Together,
Wagner
and Boutell have been
researching the property for
nine months after discovering
the store for sale last summer.
Wagner, who for years lived
in Bellevue, Washington,
does own his own investment
group, though he said this
particular project — if it
comes to fruition — would
be handled through a private
lender.
If the deal gets done, the
community appears more
than ready to welcome the
reopening of the store.
Dottie Carrell, who serves
as secretary of the Tollgate
Trail Finders snowmobile
club, said she has had conver-
sations with other property
owners about fundraising
and donating labor to help
with repairs and renovations
at the store.
“We just need some
(services) on the mountain,”
Carrell said. “Everybody’s
motivated on this issue.”
Carrell said they intend to
hold a community meeting at
the snowmobile club lodge,
right next to the store, some-
time in October to discuss
what they can do.
“We’re hoping something
happens soon,” she said.
———
Contact George Plaven
at gplaven@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0825.
HERMISTON
Tacos y Mas opens near high school
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
Owners of a new Mexican
restaurant in Hermiston hope
its location near Hermiston
High School will help keep
business booming.
Socorro
and
Maria
Orozco have opened Tacos y
Mas at the corner of Highway
395 and Highland Avenue.
The building had previously
been used by 395 Quickstop
to serve a combination of
Mexican and American food.
The Orozcos have expe-
rience working as cooks at
other Mexican restaurants
in the area and are serving
up street tacos, enchiladas,
tamales, menudo and other
authentic Mexican dishes.
“It’s authentic,” Maria’s
daughter Jessica said. “They
cook here every day. It’s
homemade every day.”
She said people can call
ahead to order take-out if
they prefer, and the Orozcos
hope to get the building’s
drive-through
up
and
running, too. The restaurant
will offer specials to high
school students during
lunch. The proximity to the
high school, where students
often walk down Highland
during lunch, was one of the
SUBMIT
COMMUNITY NEWS
Submit information to:
community@eastorego-
nian.com or drop off to
the attention of Tammy
Malgesini at 333 E. Main
St., Hermiston or Renee
Struthers at 211 S.E.
Byers Ave., Pendleton. Call
541-564-4539 or 541-966-
0818 with questions.
reasons the Orozcos chose
the location.
“They fi nally found a
place that was perfect,”
Jessica said. “It’s right on
395, also because the high
school is so close we’re able
to provide lunches for the
students.”
Tacos y Mas is open from
10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday
through Saturday, and 9
a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays.
For more information call
541-289-0228.
———
Contact Jade McDowell
at jmcdowell@eastorego-
nian.com or 541-564-4536.
Staff photo by Jade McDowell
Tacos and a burrito sit on a table at Tacos y Mas.
STUDENT
OF THE
WEEK
Nancy Ortiz-Ochoa
Senior - Umatilla High School
Nancy Ortiz-Ochoa is an outstanding, hard-working,
self-motivated student at Umatillla High School. Nancy
is a senior with a 4.17 weighted cumulative GPA.
She is a part of our ASB leadership program and is
a senior class officer . Every year in high school, she
has also participated in volleyball, basketball and track
and exemplifies a true student athlete. Nancy also
participates in T.A.G., National Honor Society and Key
Club where she volunteers to complete many service
projects. Next year, Nancy is planning on attending
Blue Mountain Community College and completing her
associates degree.
Proudly Sponsored By:
Proudly Sponsored By:
Photo contributed by Oregon State Police
A fi ery crash killed a man and closed Interstate 84
near Arlington on Monday.
Fiery wreck kills
man, shuts down I-84
East Oregonian
A man was killed
Monday night in a fi ery
wrong-way crash on Inter-
state 84 at Arlington.
According to a news
release from the Oregon
State Police, the driver of a
green 2003 Ford Windstar
was seen driving west about
7:40 p.m. in the eastbound
lanes near milepost 141.
A few minutes later the
van crashed head-on into a
semi tractor-trailer carrying
vehicles.
Witnesses reported the
van had been traveling as fast
as 60 mph, and after the colli-
sion the van came to rest on
top of the center divider. The
semi caught fi re, completely
blocking all lanes of the inter-
state for several hours. The
interstate remained closed
until Tuesday morning.
The driver of the van died
at the scene and police are
withholding his name until
next of kin can be reached.
The driver of the semi,
Santos Colunga, 24, from
California, was treated at
the scene for non-life threat-
ening injuries.
OSP
was
assisted
on-scene by Gilliam County
Sheriff’s Offi ce, ODOT,
North Gilliam Fire and the
Department of Environ-
mental Quality.
PENDLETON
ODOT provides primer
on rapid fl ash beacons
East Oregonian
The Oregon Department
of Transportation addressed
concerns some Pendleton
residents have about “rapid
fl ash beacons,” specifi cally
at the intersection of South-
west Frazer Avenue and
13th Street.
The beacons emit light
in all directions and are
more visible to motorists
on Frazer Avenue as well
as 13th Street than the old
traffi c signal, according to
the written statement from
ODOT. The curb extensions
that bump out into Frazer
from the sidewalk also
create a safer environment
for pedestrians and help
highlight the intersection as
a crosswalk.
The state transportation
agency provided this primer
on how the crosswalk
fl ashing beacons operate:
Pedestrian pushes the
button near crossing sign
when they are ready to
cross the street.
When activated, the
beacon begins fl ashing,
alternating yellow lights
similar to the pace of a
strobe light.
When lights are fl ashing
and/or when pedestrians are
present at the crosswalk,
motorists need to stop
ahead of the intersection.
Once all vehicles are
stopped, the pedestrian can
travel across the roadway.
ODOT also advised that
pedestrians “should make
eye contact with drivers and
ensure their vehicles have
come to a complete stop
before crossing the road.”
Motorists are free to
travel after pedestrians
have passed through the
lane they are using plus one
additional lane, according
to the statement.
The rapid fl ash beacons
“are improving safety for
pedestrians at other sites in
Pendleton, Umatilla County
and across the state,”
according the department,
which recently installed
one of the beacons along
Highway 395 in Pilot Rock.
More information about
pedestrian safety, including
rapid fl ash beacons, is
posted at http://www.
oregon.gov/ODOT/Safety/
Pages/Pedestrian.aspx.
Check the brochures and
posters menu tab for links
to printable materials you
can share with others.
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