NEW TENANTS HAVE DEPOT ON TRACK

0 Comments | La Crosse Tribune, Jun 25, 2006 | by Cahalan, Steve

The Train Station BBQ restaurant and other tenants are bringing new life to the Amtrak depot at 601 St. Andrew St. Lisa and Dan Thill will open the new barbecue restaurant Tuesday ay in the east end of the depot.

It's one of five tenants that Rick Masrud and Pat McGuire have signed since they acquired the depot from the city of La Crosse for $107,000 in December. The others are Reliant Business Forms, Net Kinetix, Frantz Inc. and Mike Collins.

Amtrak and Jefferson Bus Lines continue as tenants.

Four spaces remain available for lease for office or retail use, Masrud arid McGuire said last week. The spaces range from 250 to 1,300 square feet.

"I'd say we're about 70 percent leased up," Masrud said. "We're very happy" with that and hope the building will be fully leased by the year's end.

Since acquiring the building, Masrud and McGuire have had lots of cleaning and painting inside. Outside, landscaping work was done in the past month, with shrubs, decorative rock and sod put in place and weeds pulled.

Exterior painting has begun and will continue this summer.

"It was in good condition" when they acquired the depot in December, Masrud said. "It just needed a lot of TLC (tender loving care), but nothing major.

"We thought it was a good opportunity," Masrud said of buying the building from the city. "It was a diamond in the rough.

"And there's a lot of nostalgia here. I can remember my grandfather working out of the building as a conductor for the Milwaukee Road."

"We're always interested in income property," McGuire said. "We're always interested in adding quality properties."

McGuire and Masrud also are updating the 97-unit Evergreen Apartments at 316 Monitor St., which they purchased six years ago. Interior work has been completed and exterior work probably will be completed within two weeks.

The two businessmen also own Scenic Concepts Inc., one of the largest companies in the nation that specializes in taking and selling aerial farm photos. It operates from the Scenic Center building at 115 S. Fifth Ave. in downtown La Crosse. Masrud and McGuire own that building, which was occupied by the J.C. Penney Co. department store until Valley View Mall opened in 1980. The two men also rent out space in the building.

The Amtrak depot "is going to be perfect for the barbecue atmosphere," Lisa Thill said last week, as she got The Train Station BBQ ready for Tuesday's opening. "It's very laid back and casual."

Several black-and-white photos illustrating the city's railroad history are displayed on the restaurant's interior brick walls.

The restaurant will scat 55 to 60 people inside, Thill said, and she plans to have four picnic tables with umbrellas outside by the Fourth of July. Carry-out food, including party packs, also will be available.

"It's 'down South' barbecue with an 'up North' kick," Thill said of the restaurant's focus. She predicted hickory-smoked St. Louiscut pork ribs will be one of the most popular menu items.

Thill will manage and work full time at the restaurant. Her husband will continue to own and run Team Marine Service, a boat repair business on Causeway Boulevard.

"Lunch will be fast casual," Thill said. Customers will go to the counter to place their order, and a server will bring the food to their table.

"At night we'll have table service," she said, with waiters arid waitresses taking food orders at the customer's table.