thedrifter
11-12-06, 10:57 AM
Cafe in old depot appeals to commuters, residents and Marines
November 12, 2006 12:50 am
STEVE JUNKERSFELD has created the nicest railroad station this side of Washington, and possibly the friendliest anywhere.
Each weekday morning, railroad passengers stream through the door of the Whistlestop Cafe in the Quantico station and line up to buy coffee, juice, pastries and tickets. Steve, the owner, is usually there to greet them, and he knows many of them by name. "To me, this is a social event," he said.
He has six coffee pots, but only one ticket machine, he notes, although there are VRE machines out on the platform. Unlike those machines, however, the cafe accepts Metrocheks and offers the full range of VRE tickets: the standard one-way, five-day, 10-trip and monthly fares, as well as senior and student discounted tickets and monthly Transit Link Cards, good on the Washington Metro rail system.
Steve's manager, Susana Allik, is there, too, along with assistant Liz Boyles. Business is brisk as riders make their purchases and then fill up the tables, chairs and original station benches to await a Virginia Railway Express or Amtrak train heading north. A monitor at the counter displays the map on the VRE Web site showing the position of each train. As one arrives, people stream out to the platform, and then things are quiet for about 15 minutes until passengers begin arriving for the next train.
Steve assists passengers continually, answering questions about Amtrak, Metro and VRE. He was a VRE commuter himself from 1994 to 2000.
This scene happens seven times each weekday morning, and as rush hour winds down, Steve heads off to his day job in Dumfries. But the cafe and the station are open all day, from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday.
The cafe's been open for more than a year now, since September 2005. For decades, what is now a handsome brick station was a boarded-up eyesore. Prince William County helped renovate the station, but VRE had a difficult time finding a vendor to operate the station. Steve submitted the only proposal and got a one-year renewable contract and the last available VRE ticket machine. "I think we're going to be here for the long haul," he said.
After two months of work, the Whistlestop Cafe was ready for business. "I wanted the operation to look very professional," he said, and it does. It has clean restrooms and broadband Wi-Fi Internet service, as well as historical exhibits about the railroad, the town of Quantico and the U.S. Marines. (An unrelated but neighborly tenant in one end of the building is the Prince William Model Railroad Club, which has an open house the first Saturday of each month from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
Steve planned the cafe service to appeal to commuters, local residents and Marines from the base that surrounds the town. The cafe "opened with no reputation," said Steve, and he's "never done a tremendous amount of advertising," relying instead on word of mouth. And there's that blinking coffee sign in the window seen by hundreds of rail riders.
Business has grown steadily, and Steve has added menu items such as espresso and, in warm weather, soft-serve ice cream.
People ask whether the cafe is a franchise; it's not, but Steve takes it as a compliment. "They like us, like our service."
He's hosted a few special events: the model railroad club's Christmas party and a few Saturday evening parties. The Virginia Association of Railway Patrons is having its annual meeting there on March 3.
To Steve Junkersfeld, the Whistlestop Cafe in the Quantico station is an accomplishment, a hobby, something he loves. "If I pay the salaries, pay the bills but don't make a nickel, I'm happy," he said. And as he greets the passengers, answers questions and chats with people, he looks happy.
STEVE DUNHAM of Spotsylvania County commutes on Virginia Railway Express to Arlington. He chairs the board of directors of the Virginia Association of Railway Patrons. Write him c/o Commuter Crossroads, The Free Lance-Star, 616 Amelia St., Fredericksburg, Va. 22401, or e-mail
Email: literalman@aol.com.
Ellie
November 12, 2006 12:50 am
STEVE JUNKERSFELD has created the nicest railroad station this side of Washington, and possibly the friendliest anywhere.
Each weekday morning, railroad passengers stream through the door of the Whistlestop Cafe in the Quantico station and line up to buy coffee, juice, pastries and tickets. Steve, the owner, is usually there to greet them, and he knows many of them by name. "To me, this is a social event," he said.
He has six coffee pots, but only one ticket machine, he notes, although there are VRE machines out on the platform. Unlike those machines, however, the cafe accepts Metrocheks and offers the full range of VRE tickets: the standard one-way, five-day, 10-trip and monthly fares, as well as senior and student discounted tickets and monthly Transit Link Cards, good on the Washington Metro rail system.
Steve's manager, Susana Allik, is there, too, along with assistant Liz Boyles. Business is brisk as riders make their purchases and then fill up the tables, chairs and original station benches to await a Virginia Railway Express or Amtrak train heading north. A monitor at the counter displays the map on the VRE Web site showing the position of each train. As one arrives, people stream out to the platform, and then things are quiet for about 15 minutes until passengers begin arriving for the next train.
Steve assists passengers continually, answering questions about Amtrak, Metro and VRE. He was a VRE commuter himself from 1994 to 2000.
This scene happens seven times each weekday morning, and as rush hour winds down, Steve heads off to his day job in Dumfries. But the cafe and the station are open all day, from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday.
The cafe's been open for more than a year now, since September 2005. For decades, what is now a handsome brick station was a boarded-up eyesore. Prince William County helped renovate the station, but VRE had a difficult time finding a vendor to operate the station. Steve submitted the only proposal and got a one-year renewable contract and the last available VRE ticket machine. "I think we're going to be here for the long haul," he said.
After two months of work, the Whistlestop Cafe was ready for business. "I wanted the operation to look very professional," he said, and it does. It has clean restrooms and broadband Wi-Fi Internet service, as well as historical exhibits about the railroad, the town of Quantico and the U.S. Marines. (An unrelated but neighborly tenant in one end of the building is the Prince William Model Railroad Club, which has an open house the first Saturday of each month from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.)
Steve planned the cafe service to appeal to commuters, local residents and Marines from the base that surrounds the town. The cafe "opened with no reputation," said Steve, and he's "never done a tremendous amount of advertising," relying instead on word of mouth. And there's that blinking coffee sign in the window seen by hundreds of rail riders.
Business has grown steadily, and Steve has added menu items such as espresso and, in warm weather, soft-serve ice cream.
People ask whether the cafe is a franchise; it's not, but Steve takes it as a compliment. "They like us, like our service."
He's hosted a few special events: the model railroad club's Christmas party and a few Saturday evening parties. The Virginia Association of Railway Patrons is having its annual meeting there on March 3.
To Steve Junkersfeld, the Whistlestop Cafe in the Quantico station is an accomplishment, a hobby, something he loves. "If I pay the salaries, pay the bills but don't make a nickel, I'm happy," he said. And as he greets the passengers, answers questions and chats with people, he looks happy.
STEVE DUNHAM of Spotsylvania County commutes on Virginia Railway Express to Arlington. He chairs the board of directors of the Virginia Association of Railway Patrons. Write him c/o Commuter Crossroads, The Free Lance-Star, 616 Amelia St., Fredericksburg, Va. 22401, or e-mail
Email: literalman@aol.com.
Ellie