Revitalizing Antelope Café and RV Park
In February 2023 the Antelope Café and RV Park built in 1959 was purchased by a local ranch family Larry and Brandie McNamee. Tired of seeing the property abandoned since 2019, and knowing the Community was losing hope of any developers making something of the place, McNamee’s chose to make the purchase and immediately hit the ground running.
Antelope is a place that sees a lot of travelers since the Netflix documentary “Wild Wild Country” along with an increase in cyclists and boaters heading to the John Day River. McNamee’s goal is to have the store open by Summer 2024 as “Antelope Market” that serves light meals and serves as a market for small groceries, ice, and area for local vendors to have an opportunity to sell their goods. In addition to the Café developing the RV Park is also open immediately for dry camping. Reservations can be made via hipcamp.com.
Since purchasing the property significant cleanup has occurred and clear evidence that positive changes are in the making. Per City of Antelope Mayor, Sherri Jamison, “I sincerely believe that opening the café and store will be the first step in revitalizing our town and bringing it back to life.” Since COVID the restaurant industry has taken a significant hit and trying to open and revitalize an old café is not going to be an easy task. The aging community and decaying structures that line Main Street, there is but one gleam of light that is still left standing that needs to be revived to not only save the “community” of what once brought locals together, but to also bring hope back to a place this on the verge of being a ghost town. McNamee’s are hopeful that collaborating with the Oregon Frontier Chamber of Commerce along with other supporting partners they will get resources needed to help see the project through.
Per Larry McNamee, “We hope to find an operator or lease the Market out if there is someone interested.” While Larry is a full-time rancher and owns a small equipment company, his wife Brandie works remotely as a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) for a local regional firm. The two have three children that attend the local Muddy School in Antelope. The family is hopeful to improve the property and make it something that can flourish for the next generation of Antelope. Per Brandie, “The Antelope Market and RV Park will be a great asset to this Community, not only for family and neighbors, however serve as an opportunity to share this great place that we are privileged to call home. Most of all it will allow for the community to have a regular space to connect.”
The biggest challenges facing the project is the remote location and struggle to find contractors. Luckily with Larry owning a small equipment company and holding his Oregon Contractors License, they are able to do a lot of the work themselves to repair the much-needed deferred maintenance. As the property has sat vacant since 2019, the disrepairs and decay of the historic building has accelerated. Restoration of the property to see if become a place “worth stopping” again along Main Street in Antelope is their goal.
