Farmer's Union Coffee Owners Find Buyer for The Barn Light

Last September, after moving to Eugene from Seaside, Oregon, Eric Nelson and his wife, Karen Nelson, would take long walks every morning, talking over their next move.

They’d owned a successful restaurant and bar in Seaside called Sam’s Seaside Cafe for nearly 25 years, selling it only to move closer to their son, who settled in Eugene after graduating from the University of Oregon. 

“I missed being in the industry, and she started missing it, too,” Eric Nelson remembers.

Inclined to re-enter the hospitality business, Nelson and his wife discussed what their next establishment might be like: Something smaller, they thought, more of a bar than a restaurant; a place that would be easy to operate with minimal staffing. 

For these reasons the Nelsons were interested when The Barn Light came up for sale in downtown Eugene. 

*Reported by Eugene Weekly