by Kristina Stucki
Sounder contributor
Local investor Chris Robison, who purchased Rosario Resort in April of this year, was dealt another blow this month with the public notice of the resort’s imminent foreclosure and auction happening in February 2025. Robison has until Feb. 3 to pay $3.75 million that was due in July, along with interest and fees, in order to stop the public auction.
Trustee Michael Sherman, representing the interests of John Pugh and Janet Matzke, will sell the property to the highest bidder on Feb. 14, 2025 at 10 a.m. at the main entrance of the San Juan County Courthouse in Friday Harbor.
While local hopes were initially high about an island resident purchasing the historied resort, things quickly changed when few of the 47 laid-off employees were rehired and the property was heavily marketed online to investors, according to last month’s story in The Seattle Times. Negative reviews plagued the resort this summer during its typically most popular season, and despite Robison’s plans to downsize costs with virtual check-ins and the outsourcing of concierge services, things were off to a rocky start for the new owner and his investment firm, Empower Investing.
Although Robison’s experience is mostly in real estate and lending, he told Salish Current in April that he had “secured advisors with the right expertise.” In a post on LinkedIn last month, Robison wrote that he was “seeking an experienced operator to join [him] in unlocking the full potential and driving growth for this thriving establishment (Rosario).”
He may have found just such a partner, according to another recent social media post, this time on a page run by Empower Investing. “Chris Robison met with two brothers – powerhouses in the hotel industry… why are we confident in this partnership? They’ve worked with international brands and boutique hotels on award-winning projects.” The post continues to praise the unnamed partners, while asking for investors and claiming “big things are happening at Rosario.” Robison had already received notice of the foreclosure and auction at the time of both posts.
“Let’s see if we can make this happen,” Robison told EG Real Estate Developer about Rosario in a podcast interview in October.
