GALISTEO — When the Galisteo Inn closes in a few days, this rural village south of Santa Fe will lose a business that has become a landmark . Residents note there's a community center here, but as a gathering spot, it doesn't compare.

The inn, a 300-year-old Territorial compound started out as the Ortiz y Pino family residence. In the last 25 or so years, it became lodging and a restaurant, but it was also where people learned about who got married, the birth of new babies and who was home sick. Locals sometimes dined alongside celebrities or crammed into the cantina to imbibe the signature drink, a Zohngarita.

"It breaks my heart. In other words, it sucks," said Evelyn Gregory, a 20-year resident who joined dozens of other residents Tuesday night for a farewell celebration. "This has been such a great place for the community. This is a place where we would see friends and neighbors and have a drink."

Gov. Bill Richardson ate at the restaurant regularly, said inn general manager Nancy Tapp. Actor Robert Duval recently dined there with his wife, actress Suzanne Somers was a repeat guest, and actor Emilio Estevez, who has been staying in a suite a final time this week, has been visiting since the filming of Young Guns in the area in the 1980s.

"He called and said if anything is going to happen to the inn, please call me," Tapp said of Estevez.

Ron Helman, a jazz trumpeter who grew up in Manhattan, moved to Galisteo eight years ago and often performed with his quartet under the portal. "It took me a minute to get here, and I thought this is the best gig I've ever had," he said of his first performance. "While looking over the bell of your horn, and looking out at your friends and neighbors," he added, "that's a very special moment."

Anna Cárdenas, a lifelong Galisteo resident, recalled playing football and building snowmen with the children who lived on the compound years ago.

Her husband of 30 years, Freddie Cárdenas, president of the Galisteo Community Association, sounded unsure of how the village can replace the inn as a gathering spot. "This is more cozy. It's a home," he said. "The community center is a community center. Our goal is to make it more comfy and cozy, but it's going to be hard to replace this."

The restaurant shuts down after tonight's New Year's Eve dinner, which has been booked for weeks. The last inn guests check out Monday.

Chef Kim Muller has been bracing for the closing for several months, since an earlier threat to shut down in October 2007. "This is the end of an era, really, for Galisteo," she said after she finished preparing guacamole, chips and eggnog. "This is it. There's the closing, and that's all there is."

Muller, who has received mention in Gourmet magazine and the New York Times, has a new job lined up, but that's not the case with many of the remaining 15 full- and part-time employees.

Tapp hasn't decided on her next career move. She also doesn't know what will become of the business. She said the owner, the family of Chris Griscom, a spiritual leader and healer, has no interest in maintaining it as an inn. The property is managed by a Boston firm and has been on the market for nearly a year, she said, drawing just a few visits and no bidders.

Contact Doug Mattson at 985-3087 or dmattson@sfnewmexican.com.