Sargent’s Cafe in Bend latest victim of coronavirus restrictions

Diner recently closed its doors after 60 years making meals -- and friends

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A longtime Bend staple is now the victim of coronavirus restrictions.

Sargent’s Cafe, on Southeast Third Street, announced late last month they had closed for good.

Sargent’s was an old-school diner, and its regulars were passionate.

Long-time customer Elizabeth Irvin recalled many a special occasion: “If we have any kind of birthday at our house, we come here.”

 “I cried. I had to pull over -- there was no way,” Irvin recalled of when she learned the cafe would be closing.

Mindy Corley, another long-time customer, said the restaurant had become part of the fabric of Bend after 60 years of service.

“I just feel it’s like a solid structure of Bend that’s going to be gone,” Corley said.

Knowing he was going to have to close anyway, with the property having been sold over the summer, owner John Aylward had to make the call after the latest restrictions.

“We tried to adapt,” Aylward said. “You can only sell so many to-go breakfast sandwiches and breakfast burritos. We just couldn’t continue to lose money.”

A recent survey by the National Restaurant Foundation shows 110,000 restaurants across the country have closed this year. The survey says Oregon restaurants are seeing revenue down an average of 30 percent this year.

“I don’t know that in-dining restaurants is really a good business model right now,” Aylward said. “The world has changed so much, and it’s going to continue to change.”

That leaves Sargent’s faithful reminiscing.

Mindy Corley said it's where her relationship with her husband developed.

“Nineteen years ago, we would come here on our dates in the mornings and have breakfast,” she said.

And there were the unique traditions.

“They would allow people to come in and post their art, and you could just buy them from the front counter,” Corley recalled.

She had with her a painting of dogs she purchased from the cafe.

“I’m just grateful that we even got to experience it,” Irvin said.