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Helen M. Davis When one drives by the Beer Station on Holly Street in Junction City, one might not give the red building flanked by food trucks and an old caboose a lot of thought. But, to venture in is to have an experience. A multilevel establishment with both indoor and outdoor dining facilities, the Beer Station is part bar, part restaurant, and part entertainment venue. A line of food trucks provides the eats, among them Fat Ass BBQ, El Quetzal, and Tamale Man. The Beer Station proper meanwhile provides the beverages which range from soft drinks to 34 beers to a full bar. Outside, a stage hosts various bands and the quirky is always welcome as evidenced by ads for Extreme Dwarfinator Wrestling, which was soon to be hosted. Beer Station owner Nelson Rosales has quite a tale to tell himself. An immigrant from El Salvador, Rosales started selling oranges and whatever else he could to help his family by the time he was able to speak. Selling was all he knew. In 1979, at the age of 13, Rosales’ mother purchased him a one-way ticket to Guadalajara, Mexico so he could avoid being recruited by both the Guerillas and the soldiers who were then engaged in a civil war. It was common for them to come into classrooms to find young boys to serve their cause and neither Rosales nor his mother wanted this fate for him. While in Guadalajara, Rosales wasn’t able to get a job, so he answered an ad and began to sell Tupperware. He did quite well, but in July of 1984, at the age of 18, left Guadalajara for Tijuana where he ran out of money. Subsequently, he made the acquaintance of a man who had previously worked in Culver, in Eastern Oregon, who got him a job working in mint fields. This in turn, led to Rosales’ being enlisted by the University of Oregon to take part in their High School Equivalent Program known as HEP. To be a part of HEP, one was required to work in the fields. After fulfilling this obligation, Rosales then attended the University of Oregon on a full ride where he was helped to finish high school by way of an accelerated program. It was at this time he also learned English. Once he had his diploma, Rosales began to study to become an elementary teacher. Life, however, had other ideas. To help cover expenses, Rosales took a job as a bartender at El Torito, which used to operate across from Valley River Center in Eugene. This, in turn, led to a career not at the front of a classroom, but as a successful restaurateur. Rosales’ first restaurant was La Fiesta Mexicana, in Roseburg. Though he had had great hopes for the establishment, it did not do well. However, he was not one to be dissuaded and rather than give up, Rosales turned the restaurant into Rodeo Steakhouse and Grill, which did so well, he opened others, including in Junction City 20 years later. Eventually, the stress became too much, and Rosales closed the Junction City Rodeo Steakhouse and Grill in 2017 and began to work on The Beer Station at the same site. Now, he operates with a staff of 6, including Leslie Hubbard, who oversees booking bands for the venue. Most groups are local, but some come from Portland, and they play anything from classic rock to country to blues. The outdoor amphitheater, begun when bands wanted to play outdoors after Covid, has been named in her honor. Outdoor seating is year-round with heat lamps for warmth as well as a pair of fire pits that patrons just love and canopies for keeping dry. The Beer Station takes pride in being both family and animal friendly and as proof, dog bowls filled with water dot the ground here and there. A recent addition has been the Saturday Market and the Farmer’s Coop from April until October. The market features a variety of things such as handmade crafts and items one might typically sell at a garage sale. It is a case of first come, first served, where setting up for business is concerned. The Farmer’s Coop will begin to sell their goods once the harvest is in. Rosales is open to hosting any sort of event anyone wants to hold. It is just a matter of those who are interested in doing so contacting him. When he looks to the future, Rosales hopes to eventually work at the Beer Station from March though October and then, with his trusty knapsack on his back, travel to Mexico and South America. He still visits family in El Salvador and also hosts an inspirational radio show that is broadcast in his native home. The quotes he uses in his broadcasts are displayed in white lettering on red signs that hang all over the outside of the Beer Station. It’s been a good life, and Rosales is happy with how it has all turned out. Hard work and perseverance have led to his achieving the American Dream and he has come far from the days of toiling to sell oranges, then Tupperware and working in mint fields. Though he did not know it at the time, all of these were steppingstones to where he is now and what he has established. As he has done so, he has managed to create a unique space where many hands have come together to create an experience that will stay on the minds of patrons long after they have left. Comments are closed.
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