PALOMAR MOUNTAIN - It's served hardy mountain residents as a neighborhood clubhouse, a hunting lodge and a site for weddings and holiday celebrations.

But for now, the Palomar Mountain Lodge at the end of Crestline Drive is closed for business.

Brian Covington, a restorer of antiques and a handyman, took over the lodge with his wife, Sabrina, four months ago, hoping to reopen it as a bed and breakfast.

"When you walk in, you feel the warmth," Covington said. "You can leave your laptop and cell phone at the door."

Antlers, guitars, saddles and snowboards decorate the spacious front hall, which is centered on a massive stone fireplace. Decorated with cuckoo clocks, 10 cozy rooms - some with their own bathrooms - could offer tourists a place to stay.

Close to a cabinet with an antique tea set and film canisters from the 1950s, a notice posted in the window from the county's Environmental Health Department dated Aug. 8 orders the lodge closed.

The closure is an unfortunate turn arising from the decision of a previous owner, according to Covington.

The previous owner told the county planning department that the lodge was no longer in business to get easier access to a residential loan, he said.

Although the surrounding land is zoned residential, the lodge's commercial use was "grandfathered" in as long as it did not close for more than a year.

To allow the lodge to accept guests and sell food and drink, a county health inspector wanted improvements to the kitchen that could cost tens of thousands of dollars, he said.

Mark McPherson, chief of land and water quality at the county, said the lodge's food service permit was formally inactivated in 2001.

Although Covington can cite recent events where the lodge was open, he said if it stays closed for a long time, the previous owner's declaration will become true, and pushing authorities to reopen it will be more difficult.

"It's like an Old West standoff - but with legal guns," he said.

The lodge has hosted a variety of community activities over the years, said Bruce Graves, vice president of the Palomar Mountain Planning Organization and a resident for more than 30 years.

He cited examples such as volunteer fire department barbecues, pie auctions to benefit Palomar Mountain School and pancake breakfasts. Advertisements in the North County Times from the 1990s tell astronomy enthusiasts about rooms for rent close to Palomar Observatory.

"I think it deserves a chance," Graves said. "If someone puts a lot of work into the lodge, they can make it work."

The only restaurant now open on the mountain is the vegetarian Mother's Kitchen, which is not open for breakfast on weekdays, he said.

According to Marion Beckler's 1958 history, "Palomar Mountain: Past & Present," the lodge was built as a clubhouse in the late 1920s by the area's first cabin owners.

Ralph Tillinghast, later owner of a nearby general store and gas station, supplied the logs from his sawmill. The hotel rooms and kitchen were added later.

During its history, it has gone by the names Edgewood Tavern and Skyline Lodge.

"This is a historical landmark that needs to be protected and enjoyed," Covington said.

- Contact staff writer Quinn Eastman at (760) 740-5412 or qeastman@nctimes.com.