May 31, 2016

Employees of Midway Party Rental clean up after a wedding in the former Christos Greek Restaurant area at Union Depot. The restaurant closed last week. The Java Express coffee shop will operate in the space temporarily starting June 20. Union Depot draws Java Express coffee shop By: Janice Bitters May 31, 20164:23 pm 0 The Java Express coffee shop will move to a permanent location in Suite 120 at Union Depot this fall. The coffee shop will operate in the former Christos Greek Restaurant space while county officials get the suite ready. (Staff photo: Bill Klotz) The scents and sounds of a coffee shop will soon be evident again in Union Depot in downtown St. Paul. Attracting a cafe has been a longtime goal for planners and Ramsey County officials who want the transit hub to serve as a centerpiece for the Lowertown neighborhood. The last coffee shop at the station, called The Boiler Room, closed around 2009, according to the county, which oversees the depot at 241 Fourth St. E. The Java Express, which will open June 20, will help bring Union Depot to nearly full occupancy after struggling to attract and keep tenants since the building’s $243 million renovation wrapped up in late 2012. The depot was originally completed in 1923. “It really turns out to be a nice fit to further support the economic development, the buildings around here that are being converted and additional residents that are expected,” said Jean Krueger, real estate asset manager for Ramsey County. “I think it is part of that continuum of growth of Lowertown.” Java Express will temporarily open at the historic hub’s entrance, where Christos Greek Restaurant has operated for 20 years offering commuters coffee on-the-go and neighbors a place to stop. The shop will move to its 2,008-square-foot permanent location in Suite 120 in August. Christos is leaving Union Depot after county officials and the restaurant owner couldn’t come to a new lease agreement this year. The Ramsey County Regional Railroad Authority in April released a request for proposals for a new restaurant and caterer to take over the old Christos space. Officials received “several” responses by the May 5 deadline, Krueger said, though she declined to say how many. The county staff will recommend a new anchor tenant by the end of June. A new anchor restaurant will likely be up and running near the end of the year or early 2017, Krueger said. Once that happens, Union Depot will have one 2,000-square-foot suite left to rent. County officials hope to fill the space with retail or a business that offers a public use. The suite was initially constructed with a slope because of grade elevation changes on the ground. The spaceis “on the one hand very cool and other hand very challenging,” Krueger said. “It’s going to take just the absolute right business … to make it work.” Lowertown Bike Shop started operating at its new Union Depot location in Suite 160 in May. The nonprofit had outgrown its previous space in the nearby Jax Building, which may soon be converted into market-rate apartments . The Lowertown Bike Shop will benefit from its new neighbor, said Deborah Carter McCoy, communications manager for the county’s regional railroad authority. “It really does fill a need,” she said of Java Express. “It will be a nice complement for any folks coming in on bikes, on group rides or people who need a quick service” at the bike shop. As planners’ vision for Union Depot comes into focus with a new set of tenants, Java Express owner Crystal Scott says her move to the transit hub was “destiny.” She developed the company’s name and logo, which includes a train, in 2009. Scott knew Union Depot was a transit station, but didn’t know much else until a recent visit. “I went in and I began to see the logo I created – the same type of train,” she said. “I said, ‘Oh my goodness, this is a sign that I need to be here.’” Once she settles the business into Suite 120, the shop will offer a patio, meeting area, local music and a Southern-inspired brunch with chicken and waffles, and fish and grits. But she also wants to grab the hundreds of fast-paced commuters from Amtrak, Greyhound, the Green Line light rail and bus routes that pass by the station daily, she said. “It’s also coffee for the early morning people traveling to and from their destinations,” she said. “It is coffee they can grab and go.” Related content: