PROSPECT (AP) – The Sail Inn Restaurant will be forced to close this month because of a sharp drop in business linked to work on the Waldo-Hancock Bridge, owners of the 55-year-old eatery said Friday.

In addition, Bob and Paul Dyer said the Maine Department of Transportation told them it is taking their land and business through eminent domain.

Restaurant receipts are down by almost 50 percent from last year, Bob Dyer said, and the only variable is work on the 72-year-old bridge over the Penobscot River to shore up its support cables. Construction of a replacement bridge is planned.

“We have heard from numerous regulars saying they just didn’t trust being able to get back and forth in a timely fashion. That has hurt us for a year and a half,” he said.

Paul Dyer said the $225,000 that the state has offered for the property, which includes five acres of river frontage, is well below market value and he plans to fight for a fair price.

Fourteen full-time employees will lose their jobs when the Sail Inn closes Nov. 15, the owners said.

AP-ES-11-07-03 1723EST