After more than a decade of fundraising, planning, and restoration, the Cheney Depot Society is reopening the city's historic train depot as a community gathering space anchored by a growing coffee company at 15 Union, in Cheney.

The nonprofit preservation group has worked for over 12 years to preserve and relocate the depot to prevent demolition by Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, after the property was declared as surplus in 2014. The structure, which originally cost $25,000 to build in 1929, cost over $2.2 million to save, move, and restore.

The restored depot now will serve as a multipurpose community space, with Eastern Coffee Roasters Union St LLC, which does business as Eastern Coffee Roasters, leasing space to operate a cafe and roasting business. The income from the lease will help the Cheney Depot Society maintain and continue improving the building.

The building displays artifacts with information panels and QR codes to keep the space connected to the region's railroad history. Jeff Wright, Eastern Coffee Roasters' chief revenue officer, says he's thrilled to have the opportunity to work out of a historically significant location.

Wright co-owns the roasting company with his wife April and daughter Rachel Gorsuch.

The depot property will be Eastern Coffee Roasters' first physical storefront, he says. The company started as an online operation in 2023, and the family previously roasted and sold small batches of coffee out of their Cheney home. 

Later, in March 2024, the company's online sales surged, ushering in new roasting partners in California and Ohio to support the production of larger batches. This move allowed the business to quickly and efficiently fill and ship orders to customers on the east coast.

Finding immediate success, Wright says the business invested in a trailer to travel to community events to sell product on-site. Within a year, the company's revenue doubled. Wright says his goal was to build on that momentum by opening a drive-thru coffee shop, but the depot opportunity presented itself first.

Spokane-based Walker Construction Inc. led the renovation efforts at the depot, focusing on maintaining the building's historic integrity. 

"(Walker Construction was) able to save a lot of the original materials while matching modern materials to look period appropriate," says Jill Weiszmann, treasurer at Cheney Depot Society.

Susan Beeman, Cheney Depot Society secretary, is also credited as a driving force behind the restoration efforts, working to get the initial grant funding and helping to preserve many of the artifacts in the original building. To help cover ongoing and future maintenance costs, Beeman was tasked with finding a commercial tenant for the building.

The restored depot honors the wishes of the late Dr. Peter Hansen, a former Cheney resident, who envisioned its future use as a gathering space, Beeman explains.

Hansen was born in Spokane in 1938 and grew up in Cheney. He graduated from the University of Washington Medical School in 1963 and then practiced medicine in Kenai, Alaska for 50 years. Even from Alaska, Hansen was always looking for ways to promote and preserve his home town of Cheney, says Beeman.

Hansen and his wife Karolee were key contributors to the project, investing over $1.2 million, Beeman says. Grants from Heritage Capital Project made up $1 million and various other donations helped finalize the funding.

"Originally, (Hansen) offered a challenge grant," Beeman says. "He initially offered to match up to $700,000 in donations, but ended up investing much more."

Sunshine Investment Partners donated the land for the depot to occupy. In 2019, the land donation was valued at $145,500, Beeman says.

Historically, the depot was a hub for the city of Cheney, as Eastern Washington University students from Spokane would take the train to the depot, then depart and walk to campus, she says.

At Eastern Coffee Roasters, Wright says he and his wife April named their 10-year-old daughter Annora as the director of event sales, noting that it's a great way to teach real-world skills at a young age. She's tasked with managing both sales and inventory for every event they attend.

Gorsuch, the cafe's director of operations, has been training 12 full-time employees and brewing up some specialty railroad-themed drinks.

Eastern Coffee Roasters Director of Operations Rachel Gorsuch has been prepping railroad-themed drinks for the cafe.

"I'm really grateful for this opportunity," Gorsuch says.  "But I am really looking forward to putting my new drinks out for people to enjoy them."

Those drinks will be accompanied by an assortment of fresh-baked goods and panini-style sandwiches. A mobile app will be available for customers to place a curbside carryout order. The cafe will operate daily from 6 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Eastern Coffee Roasters has scheduled a grand opening on April 24 at 9:30 a.m. The Cheney Depot Society is hosting a building dedication and open house the following morning from 9:30-11:00 a.m.

Wright says he's hopeful the space will create some interest in regional tourism where people travel out to Cheney to see the site.

"We want to bring people out here," Wright says. "We want to make it a destination people want to visit."