First tenants lined up for former Pennsylvania Railroad Depot

By the end of this year, Richmond’s historic and remodeled former Pennsylvania Railroad Depot will have its first tenants.

The owners of Roscoe’s Coffee Bar & Tap Room in the city’s Historic Depot District, announced Monday plans to open the first wave of businesses at the 112-year-old train depot building that has been empty for more than 40 years.

The businesses include an upscale restaurant and brew pub, a banquet hall and catering service, a wine bar and a retro-modern store featuring home decor items, gifts and apparel.

“It’s terribly exciting,” said Mike Widau, one of seven partners involved in various parts of the project. “It’s humbling, too. We’re blown away by the idea that we can inhabit that gorgeous old building.

“I’ve listened to people for years say ‘I wish they could get something in there.’ Now it’s us,” Widau said.

The plans, he said, are to have the businesses, most of which will have their own identity, up and running before Dec. 31.

Building owner Roger Richert said, “I personally think it’s going to be one of the biggest things that’s happened in Richmond.”

“It’s only been empty for 44 years. Right now, it’s full speed ahead,” he said.

The most exciting part, said Richert, is that the building will be open to the public.

“I could have put some offices in there, but I always wanted it to be open to the public. Now it’s happening,” he said.

The restaurant/brew pub, to be called The Depot-House of Brews, will feature 50 craft beer taps and food produced in Indiana, said chef Craig Gareiss, a Centerville High School graduate who served as chef at The Wicked Spoon in Las Vegas and most recently at the Cerulean Restaurant in Indianapolis.

“The food will be locally sourced. We have a relationship with several Indiana farms that will be supplying fresh beef, pork and vegetables,” Gareiss said. “I think it will be something that Richmond hasn’t seen yet.”

The brew pub, as well as the wine bar, will focus on local products, said partner Jared Ward, another Centerville High School graduate.

“You’ll see craft beers and wines from all over the state. It will complement the rest of the depot area,” Ward said. “This area is great, and this building is awesome, and what we can do with (the building) will be very unique.”

The wine bar will be located in the former baggage building; the second-floor banquet hall will seat 499 people; and the shabby-chic, retro-industrial decor, gifts and apparel store called PAX will have quirky and unique items for all tastes.

There also will be a brick, outdoor three-season patio.

“It’s an absolutely amazing building, and we’re excited about having the chance to move ahead with the project,” Widau said.

He said a final decision has not been made on the future of Roscoe’s, a half a block away from the depot.

“We absolutely love that building and we don’t want to lose the vibe it has created, but we don’t want to let it be forgotten and see it drift away,” he said. “We’re at that point where a decision has to be made pretty soon.”