Savage's Depot restaurant struggles to stay open

The latest tenants in the historic Depot building in Savage are hoping that the third time's a charm for making a restaurant work in the picturesque but challenging space.

In six years, two previous coffee shops have failed in the city-owned building downtown.

But Paul and Cindy Hurley, whose full-service restaurant is called Flavor at the Depot, think they can make it.

Maybe.

The catch: Even the Hurleys themselves admit they need some help to stay afloat.

"We are almost there," said Paul Hurley. "If business was a little bit better, I'd be more convinced that we were going to make it long term."

At a City Council work session, Paul Hurley echoed what the city's Economic Development Commission found: The city may have to give up on its dream of having a Depot eatery that turns a profit.

Past tenants struggled with signage and visibility on Hwy. 13, as well as limitations of the space itself.

In a letter to the City Council, Paul Hurley also lamented a lack of storage space that keeps them from getting discounts on bulk food and accepting big catering jobs.

Then there's the hefty heating and cooling bills. And with no room for a dishwasher, they have to hire someone to do it by hand, he wrote.

"Everyone at the city of Savage has been a great help, but I feel that if the city wants the Depot to be a restaurant then it cannot look to the Depot to produce income, but rather to break even," he wrote.

Mayor Janet Williams said she wishes the endeavor were making money, but she's happy to have a tenant in the historic property so people can go in and experience it.

The goal was "really to have some building that was representative of our history … and I think we knew there was going to be some cost to that," Stock conceded.

The Economic Development Commission also suggested possibly restructuring the Depot as a nonprofit or exploring various community partnerships to make the business work.

Bringing the Depot — an old train station where mail and freight was picked up and dropped off — back to Savage was the goal of a group of residents, along with Williams. They raised money to transport the structure, built in 1880 but later moved to what was then called Murphy's Landing in Shakopee, home in 2006.

The installation downtown cost the city $130,000. Last year, the city opted to use part of a grant from the Shakopee tribe to finance a $30,000 commercial hood and exhaust system, necessary to install the full kitchen Cindy Hurley needed.

On the outside, the beet-red building looks small and unassuming. But on the inside, it's spacious, with 12-foot ceilings in the dining area, a fireplace and the original wide-plank flooring intact.

"Everything is made from scratch," Paul Hurley said. "And people like that."

The Hurleys said that 90 percent of business is repeat customers, and people love the building's history.

Vicki Nelson of Burnsville said the staff, including the Hurleys, are always helpful. Cindy Hurley even made a special birthday cake for her party on a recent visit.

"I think it's really important and I like the uniqueness of it," said diner Amber Preston of Eagan. "I think we need more of that instead of chains."

But others in town aren't so sure.

She mentioned continual road construction on Hwy. 13 that has affected all the local businesses.

Stock said another challenge is that there are already nine restaurants downtown.

Across the state, many other old train depots are presently Chamber of Commerce offices, he added. Shakopee's is now a quilt shop. In Hopkins, the city, school district and other partners run a nonprofit coffeehouse with youth programming in their renovated depot.

The city's economic commission recommended that if the city didn't want to renew the lease deal, no further efforts should be made to support a non-chain restaurant on-site.

Paul Hurley, who also runs a computer supply business, said that if he didn't think the restaurant could make it, he would close up shop today.

"I've got to tell you the customers are second-to-none," said Hurley. "Many people have said, 'We want you to succeed. What can we do to help you?'"