West Linn resident Aviad Tapiro paid $655,000 in June for the former Trail's End Saloon building at 1320 Main St. in downtown Oregon City.

He plans to turn it into the city's first downtown hotel.

Tapiro, owner of Tapiro Group, a design and construction company specializing in home remodels, wants to convert the long-unused upstairs apartments into four boutique hotel suites with an Old West theme, The Oregonian/OregonLive first reported.

Downstairs, he envisions a revived saloon and restaurant with live music and dancing.

Downtown Oregon City has no overnight lodging options along Main Street or in its core, according to The Oregonian.

It needs a lot of work.

That is how Tapiro described the more-than-century-old building to The Oregonian on Aug. 31.

But the challenge appealed to him as a construction professional looking for his next project.

The two-story, about 4,500-square-foot building closed in November 2025 after decades as Trail's End Saloon, a blues venue that won eight Muddy Awards from the Cascade Blues Association for Best Blues Venue, according to a 2014 OregonLive profile.

Dan and Jean Montjoy purchased the property in 1992 and opened Trail's End Saloon.

The building's history stretches further. In the 1880s, Freytag's Grocery occupied the site.

After a fire around 1905, the structure was rebuilt. It is described as the last square-nailed, wooden-framed, lap-sided structure left in downtown Oregon City.

"Oregon City has big plans. I believe in Oregon City. I think it's going to be a big thing," Tapiro told The Oregonian.

To help fund the hotel renovation, Tapiro received conditional approval for a $100,000 award through the Tourism Small Business & Entrepreneur Acceleration Grant Program. Clackamas County's Office of Economic Development administers the one-time program, which provides $1 million in total grant funding to tourism-related businesses countywide. Grant agreements and distribution were scheduled for fall 2026.

The property also includes a 10-space parking lot and a basement Tapiro sees as a future redevelopment opportunity. He told The Oregonian he is looking for an operator or business partner to run the food and beverage side.

Tapiro hopes to reopen the bar by early 2027, though that timeline could move faster with the right partner.