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Restaurateurs plan reopening of Depot By Shari Downhill A dusty architectural belle could soon step out of mothballs and into the limelight of Front Street commerce. Three area restaurateurs hope to reopen the former Medford Depot as a casual eatery within months. Tim Tolman, owner of Habaneros Mexican Restaurant in Medford; Rolar Yondorf, former partner of Omar�s Fresh Seafood & Steaks in Ashland; and Brian Porter, former general manager of Jacksonville�s Bella Union, are putting their 20-plus years of friendship to the test with a commitment to reawaken the renovated depot. Tolman, Yondorf and Porter say their offer to purchase the building was accepted and escrow is set to close this month. Although they declined to discuss specific plans, they confirmed their intent to remodel the place and open it by summer. The depot�s interior is 6,600 square feet and there�s another 3,000 square feet of patio dining space by the railroad tracks outside. "When I left Omar�s, I really didn�t think I would get right back into the restaurant business," Yondorf said. "This partnership and this location are the only things that could have done that. I look at this as an exciting opportunity to work with these guys." "The concept is still evolving," Porter said of the partners� dreams for the new restaurant. Still, the food-service veterans have a solid idea of the casual type of dining experience they plan to offer prospective customers. Although not set on the establishment�s name, the partners believe "Porter�s" would be fitting � as in "an attendant in a railroad car." Included on the menu will be porterhouse steak and handcrafted porter ale. Most recently operated as Southern Oregon and Pacific Brewing, the former depot-style restaurant has been closed since June 1999. Two area entrepreneurs and their out-of-state partner purchased the depot in 1995 from Central Oregon and Pacific Railroad for $276,000. The company took out a $1 million loan to finance the renovation and purchase equipment to open the restaurant. Opened in 1998, the restaurant floundered and in late 1998 was put up for sale for $1.4 million. Defaulting on the renovation loan and unable to find a buyer, the partners lost the depot in foreclosure to a New Jersey-based financier, CIT Group. Although the depot�s ownership has been in limbo over the past two years, the extensive, and expensive, renovation by the former owners preserved the downtown landmark, paving the way for the depot�s listing on the National Register of Historic Places. The Front Street depot was originally built in 1910 to replace an older wooden depot south of Main Street. The "new" depot was completed and dedicated in October 1910 and served Southern Pacific rail traffic for less than two decades. By 1922, Southern Pacific�s Natron Cutoff shifted most rail traffic from Medford to Klamath Falls. Service to Medford was re-established during World War II with rail transportation of troops and supplies to Camp White. But, by 1952, all passenger traffic south was discontinued, and by 1955 northbound service ended. From 1955 to 1995, the depot was used only as a freight office. Reach reporter Shari Downhill at 776-4463, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.