Union County’s poor economy has gotten the best of Foley Station, the

icon for fine dining in downtown La Grande the past 14 years.

Merlyn Baker, one of two remaining Foley Station partners, confirmed

Wednesday the upscale eatery at 1114 Adams Ave. is shutting for good

Nov. 23.

He said it’s a decision he’s battled against, but the last few years have been just too hard.

“The economy has affected us to the point where there’s nothing left to hold on to,” Baker said.

The name of the restaurant started by Baker, John Ecklund and John Barth comes from the fact that it opened in 1997 in the historic Foley Building not far from the current restaurant site.

A long time ago, Union Pacific maintained offices in the Foley building. Baker said he liked the Foley Station moniker because it had local identity.

About six years ago, the partners found themselves having to choose between paying much higher rent for their Foley Building spot, or moving.

They decided to buy the building at 1114 Adams. Baker said the partners did so with trepidation. They worried in particular that the new space was too big.

But little expense or effort was spared in making the new Foley Station a place for memorable dining.

Using local contractors almost exclusively, the partners gutted a building that was constructed in 1892 and built a restaurant to rival the fanciest in Portland, San Francisco or even New York City.

The new version of Foley Station opened in December 2003. It included a double kitchen, one for daily use and another for banquets. There was a huge main dining area, a bar, banquet facilities and a grotto for more intimate gatherings.

In its heyday, the restaurant provided about 40 full- and part-time jobs. Baker said finding enough qualified people to work there always was a challenge.

“To be honest, La Grande isn’t a culinary community at all. Even though I’ve seen huge numbers of people go to culinary school, not that many are willing to come back and work in a small community,” he said.

The new Foley Station got off to a rocky beginning, but things smoothed out. Baker said one key to his success in that earlier time was the tourist trade.

“I spent 99 percent of my marketing budget on bringing tourists to the area, and I believe we had a big effect on the whole economy,” he said.

But then, about three and a half years ago, gas prices spiked and the visitor trade dropped off. That was the beginning of a perfect storm of adverse circumstances.

In recessionary times, people not only forego vacations and weekend getaways, they simply don’t eat out as much – even if the restaurant serves up its dishes with locally grown produce as Foley Station did.

Then there’s the fact that the cost of doing business continued upward as profits declined. As one example, Baker said halibut priced at $3 or $4 a pound 14 years ago costs $18 a pound now.

Baker said construction cost overruns also played a part in the restaurant’s demise. Because of those, the partners sold the building, then leased it back from the buyer.

Staff has been cut back repeatedly throughout the recession, until now only a handful are left. When a big crowd does show up, there are not enough workers to keep pace.

“Despite having 100 tables or whatever, I’m staffing based on the trend in business,” Baker said. “It’s been very hard to rise for that one day when we are busy.”

Barth left the partnership some time ago, and Ecklund is running a winery in Argentina. As Baker closes up, he’s hosting “The Big Week,” encouraging customers to come in, eat one more time and say goodbye.

And, he’s making plans for the future. He said he loves La Grande, plans to stay, and will continue in the culinary arts.

For one thing, he’s putting his 40 years experience in restaurants to work in a consulting business called “Chef Merlyn.” He said he feels he can do the community much good in that role.

“It’s to help small businesses find a way to push themselves up a little bit,” he said.

Baker is hard at work writing cookbooks, and continues marketing his line of spices called Merlyn’s Mystic Seasonings. He also plans to work as a chef for hire.

He said he hopes that someday, somewhere in La Grande, he will be able to start another restaurant.

“I hope I find the right size building to provide fine dining. I think it’s an important part of the community. It just has to be sized to fit,” he said.

It’s easy to see that the closing of Foley Station saddens Baker, and even easier to see he had his whole heart and soul in the enterprise.

But the restaurant did have a good run, and Baker said he’s grateful for that.

“I want to say thank you to La Grande for all the support over the years,” he said. “For all the compliments on our fine food and service, I can’t say thank you enough.”