After nine years in business, Honkers Restaurant in the Old Mill District closed its doors Saturday and let go of 35 employees.

The restaurant, which changed menus and ownership several times, was hit with the one-two punch of stiff competition in a crowded market and high overhead costs for its large building nestled next to the Deschutes River, said Mick Hugg, executive chef operator at Honkers.

”It’s not a good year,” he said. ”You can only recover so much debt. We just couldn’t afford to keep slipping behind.”

Recently completed street and roundabout construction was also a disruption to business, he said.

”The downfall of this particular facility was it wasn’t a great summer, we had construction out front; it was kind of a domino of things,” Hugg said.

The most recent owners, a partnership called the Old Mill Food Group, took over Honkers in October from previous owner Gilchrist Food Group. That partnership included developer Alan Laurie, Robert Holley of the Tumalo Feed Group, Trish Smith, Craig Hingley, Pete VanDeusen and managing partner John Brunson. The restaurant’s sale price was never disclosed.

The Old Mill Food Group then changed the menu to feature the Northwest grill-style food the restaurant served when it first opened its doors in 1994. Menu prices ranged from $12 to $20.

Hugg said there is a possibility the Old Mill Food Group will pair up with other investment groups and reopen the restaurant under a different concept. In the meantime, ”all options are on the table,” he said.

The timeline for any deals to take place is uncertain.

”It could be a week, it could be a month, it could be year,” Hugg said.

Lisa Rosetta can be reached at 541-617-7812 or lrosetta@bendbulletin.com.