Two and a half months after a massive pine tree smashed onto the Ski Inn restaurant in downtown Sisters, the popular burger and breakfast joint remains shuttered. But its manager says she plans to eventually open again.

“As far as we known, we are going to be rebuilt and ready to run by summer,” Ski Inn manager Carrie McGonagle said Friday.

The Ski Inn has been in McGonagle’s family for more than four decades, she said, with her grandparents opening the eatery in 1972. It’s now owned by her dad, Dan Palmer, and his three brothers.

The ponderosa pine fell onto the front of the building at 310 E. Cascade Ave. at 2:20 p.m. on Dec. 2, a windy Sunday in Sisters, McGonagle said. Six people were in the restaurant when the tree fell. One customer suffered minor injuries.

The stump of the big tree is still next to the Ski Inn.

“We counted the rings and I think it was like 150 years (old),” McGonagle said.

Repairing the damage to the small building will likely cost about $100,000, said Dave Pedersen, building official for Deschutes County.

Perdersen said he did a cursory inspection of the Ski Inn on Dec. 3, the day after the tree fell, and it appeared what was still standing was in good shape.

“What (the tree) didn’t actually hit, it didn’t hurt,” Pedersen said. “It has some good potential to come back.”

He said it appeared the kitchen survived the crash. The Ski Inn owners have not yet applied for any building permits with Deschutes County.

The Ski Inn has a loyal following in Sisters, with breakfast being its signature meal, McGonagle said. The regulars would show up almost every day at 6 a.m. to dine on omelets, biscuits and gravy, hash browns and other breakfast staples.

“We are really popular for our bacon and ham,” McGonagle said.

The owners of The Porch restaurant in Sisters, which opened in June 2012, offered to let the Ski Inn use its kitchen to prepare and serve lunches until repairs are done. But the kitchen isn’t equipped with a griddle, and The Ski Inn’s menu is all about the griddle. The Porch is focused on dinner fare, and its kitchen has an oven, stove-top burners and a fryer.

“It wouldn’t have worked,” McGonagle said.

Caryl Hosler, who owns The Porch with her son Jon Hosler, said they offered up their place because they don’t serve breakfast or lunch. And they wanted to help the Ski Inn recover from the tree fall.

“What a horrible thing to happen,” she said.

— Reporter: 541-617-7812, ddarling@bendbulletin.com