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Blue Mountain Cafe closes tonight By Sara Murphy ASHLAND � Wake up and smell the Blue Mountain coffee one last time. The Blue Mountain Cafe, one of Ashland�s favorite gathering spots, will close its doors tonight at 5. The restaurant and coffee shop is set to be demolished this spring to make room for a new downtown fire station. "If we could get those firemen to make gourmet coffee, maybe this could work out," said Chris Hearn, a five-days-a-week regular. "I don�t know if firemen make good coffee, but they could learn." Hearn�s law office is located across East Main Street from the cafe, which sits behind the firehouse, sandwiched between East Main and Siskiyou Boulevard. Hearn, an Ashland Planning commissioner, has crossed the street for a cup o� joe "twice a day, five days a week for eight years, give or take a few misses here and there." That may sound like customer loyalty to the extreme, but it�s not uncommon for the Blue Mountain gang. They come for the low-key atmosphere, a place where you might see "earth muffins and suits with laptops sitting side-by-side," said Chris Thompson, a commercial mortgage broker who works across Siskiyou. They come for the people. "You get to know people," said head cook Dave Dotson, who�s worked there four years. "Even if you just talk to them for a few minutes, after two years you get to know them." They come for the pecan rolls. "I�m going to miss the pecan rolls," said Bill Epstein, an ophthalmologist who sometimes stops by on his way to work � and sometimes stops by on his way home. "You�ll have to come by (Saturday)," he added. "It�s the last day. That way you won�t get addicted to them like I am." The coffee, the people and even the pecan rolls could pick up and move across town. But customers say they aren�t the only ingredients in the recipe that makes the Blue Mountain special. "I think it really is the building," said Colleen Sheahan, looking up at the wood walls and ceiling. "You cannot replicate the Blue Mountain," said Thompson, a self-described "loan shark" who considered putting up the money for the restaurant to relocate, but couldn�t find an appropriate location. Neither could restaurant owner David Frye, who plans to go into real estate, according to cafe employees. Frye and Alan Kaufman, who owned the property before it was condemned by the city, could not be reached for comment Friday. Fire Chief Keith Woodley said the city and Frye have a lease agreement through Feb. 19. Plans for the new fire station are being drawn up and Woodley expects to submit an application for a site plan approval later this month. Fire crews will move to temporary structures in the B Street Public Works Yard later this spring. Demolition of the Blue Mountain and current fire station buildings may happen in early April, Woodley said. Hearn, meanwhile, has been planning ahead, trying to wean himself from his favorite cafe. He didn�t visit the Blue Mountain twice a day, every day, in January. "I drank the office coffee," he said. "It was lonely and it tasted bad, so I wasn�t too happy. "It was like losing a friend." Reach Ashland bureau reporter Sara Murphy at 482-4655, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.