Meet the woman bringing (tiny) trains back to Union Depot

In 2019, Jen Moberg and a business partner bought Choo Choo Bob’s, the beloved model train store then on Marshall Avenue in St. Paul. They spent $10,000 to turn the store into a pay-to-play and birthday party space, only to see COVID shut it down.

No parties meant no income. Eviction followed. In 2022, they reopened in an old toy store in St. Louis Park. The folks at Union Depot kept in touch, eventually convincing Moberg to return to St. Paul.

On May 3, Choo Choo Bob’s will open in a refurbished space in Union Depot’s Head House, bringing more than 1,000 toy trains to a place where hundreds of big trains used to come and go daily. Eye on St. Paul visited Moberg at the Depot to talk about the journey. This story was edited for length.

Q: How did the Union Depot folks bring you here?

Moberg: Well, the Union Depot people have been trying to get us to move here ever since COVID. Because they found out that we were getting kicked out and stuff. But we just couldn’t at that time because our kids were little, and there was nobody around and we did not have the capacity to open it up again. And so the old general manager was, like, “OK, you can store all your stuff here for 20 bucks a month.”

Q: Sounds like a no-brainer, right?

Moberg: Yeah. So we stored our stuff here. And then the new general manager, Lindsay [Boyd], she’s like, “Hey, we don’t mind storing your stuff here, but we can’t have outside tenants store things in the parking garage anymore. You might want to think about leasing space.”

[Boyd stops by during our interview.]

Q: So, having a business that attracts kids and train aficionados seems to make sense for the Depot too.

Boyd: Yes, absolutely. And this is kind of the destination business that we really want here and needed here. I am a mom to a 2-year-old and a 3-year-old. So, I feel like I’m our target market. There is a need for experiences like this place to bring your kids. There isn’t anything like this.

Q: A long-term lease?

Moberg: Yeah. Two years with an option to extend past that.

Q: Is there anything special you’re doing together on marketing?

Boyd: Yes. We’re meeting again to talk about kind of grand opening, talking about some other opportunities.

Moberg: On May 3, we’re going to kick it off with the Traintastic Storytime at 10:30 in the morning. Engineer Paul, who was on the Choo Choo Bob Show and worked at the store ever since its inception, will be here. He’s excited we’re back in St. Paul.

Q: I admit, I have been a train geek since my first passenger trip as a boy. Why are some people so crazy about trains?

Moberg: Well, a lot of it starts very young. Thomas the Tank Engine. And some kids just continue that love for trains and, suddenly, they graduate to the model railroad type stuff and, you know, dive into the history.

Q: How can the Depot work to turn those kids into grown-up train-takers?

Boyd: I mean, that’s why we’re talking. We already do some field trips. We already have a lot of great established train events happening. Train Days [the first weekend in June], that brings in 10,000 [people] every year. I guess the other big news too, is the grand opening on May 3 is also going to be the same day that we’re bring in the CPKC Empress steam engine.

Q: Tell me a little about what kids can do here.

Moberg: So, the pay-to-play space has about a dozen train tables, some of them have the tracks already glued to them. Some of them are your free play. We have about a half a dozen little ride-on trains that, you know, 2-year-olds can ride on. And my 11-year-old son can ride on it still somehow. At the last two locations, we’ve had a Hot Wheels station. And then a little dollhouse area, and a little coloring area where you can hang up the train-themed pictures on the wall.

And we pretty much always have bubbles going. Because kids love bubbles.

Q: A bubble machine?

Moberg: Oh, yes. We’ve gone through quite a few bubble machines. We’re looking for more of a commercial one, more heavy-duty. And we always have train-themed music going. Some from the actual Choo Choo Bob shows, from Thomas, even Johnny Cash.

Q: Before COVID, how many people would come through each day?

Moberg: The weekends are busier. Depending on the birthday parties, sometimes 200. If we had three birthday parties in a day, every kid brings, you know, at least one adult with them. Usually two. Opening weekend will be half-price. The original price is $10 per kid, ages 1 through 10. And then adults are $2. So, [opening weekend] it’ll be $5 and $1. Oh, and we always do buy one, get one free for twins.

Mondays and Fridays, we’ll be open from 10 to 1. Saturdays and Sundays 10 to 5. And people who can leave and come back with a stamp. If they want to go get a coffee and come back, that’s fine.