Owner Rustin Smith is renovating the street level of the Antlers and Rogers hotels, but his long-term goal is to restore the upper stories and again use the space for overnight lodging

Rustin Smith, owner of the historic Antlers Hotel at Washington

Avenue and First Street, is revamping Baker’s Subs into Baker Bistro,

with overflow seating and lunch meeting rooms in the former site of the

Lil’ Britches store.

“Basically we took over the sandwich shop and it will be called

Baker Bistro,” said Smith. “We’ll still have sandwiches and salads, but

we’re going to round out the menu and add breakfast burritos, breakfast

sandwiches and coffees.”

The sub shop remained open this month during remodeling of the former Lil’ Britches space. That work is expected to be completed by April 1, when the transition is scheduled to be completed and Baker Bistro will open for breakfast and lunch seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Baker Bistro address is 1925 Washington Ave.

Smith said the Lil’ Britches store closed earlier this month. That site is the former lobby of the Antlers Hotel.

This week, Verland McKeen was busy doing demolition work for Smith, peeling off two layers of paneling and one layer of sheetrock in the former Lil’ Britches store.

In the process, McKeen uncovered a historical mural of a cattle drive that covered a wall on the south side of the room.

A Historic Baker City plaque on the building says, “In the early days of the 20th Century the Antlers Hotel was a bustling three-story hotel which boasted a fine restaurant and bar,” complete with an elevator to hotel rooms on the upper floor.

In 1910 a fourth floor was added, but after World War II all 10 of the hotels in Baker City, including the Antlers and the adjacent Rogers Hotel on First Street, were in decline. A historic plaque on the Rogers Hotel says by the 1960s the main floor of all 10 of town’s hotels had been converted to commercial and retail space, and the upstairs rooms were either converted to apartments or closed off.

“I’m having to undo what a lot of people did over the years. They acted like the upstairs didn’t exist,” Smith said.

While his immediate plans are focused on restoring commercial and retail business spaces on the main floor of the Antlers and Rogers hotels, Smith said his long-term dream is to restore and reopen hotel rooms upstairs.

During his demolition work, McKeen also uncovered an elevator in the Antlers lobby that had been walled off and covered with sheetrock and paneling. He also opened up an old stairwell that led to hotel rooms on the second story of the building, which has been closed off for many years.

“It’s an old crank elevator – the type you had to crank to make it move,” McKeen said.

Besides the Baker Bistro and adjacent meeting and conference area, the Washington Avenue side of the Antlers Hotel houses the Lavish Salon and Day Spa, 1937 Washington Ave.

Smith said he will be opening access to the upper stories of both the Antlers and Rogers buildings and when possible reconnecting wiring and utilities and making other preparations for eventually restoring and reopening the areas.

“The master plan is to have commercial retail on the ground floor, and reopening the hotel on the upper floors,” Smith said. “We are having the big metal and neon sign that used to hang on the corner of the Antlers Hotel restored. It’s got the name of the hotel on top with an ad for the restaurant on the bottom,” Smith said.

He said converting the former Lil’ Britches space into a commons area with seating and space for lunch meetings marks the first step toward his long-term goals for the buildings he bought four years ago, when he moved to Baker City from Reno.

“Right now we are in the demolition stage. We’re opening things up so we can see what’s behind the walls,” Smith said.

Based on what they find, Smith said he’ll have a better idea of what needs to be done to restore upper floor hotel rooms, and add bathrooms and other modern amenities.

“Our main goal is to make the main floor profitable, but everything we are doing on the main floor is with the intent of being able to reopen the upper floors later on,” Smith said. “What I envision upstairs would be more like bed and breakfast accommodations than a Motel 8,” Smith said.

“I want people to know that is my intent, but the planning is in its infancy,” Smith said. “The first challenge is to get tenants in the ground floor locations.

“I’m committed to making the main floor work and building that out. What happens on the upper story depends on what happens locally and what happens with the economy,” Smith said.

“The challenge is to do something that makes sense, given Baker’s economy. Right now, it’s more of a personal project than a moneymaker. Our challenge is to find a way to make the project pay its own way. We don’t know when that will happen. We’ll get started, but we may not finish it in my lifetime.”

In the meantime, Smith said, “We’ve got a lot of good sandwiches and wraps. I’m sure there’ll be something you’ll like at Baker Bistro.”