The Station Grill restaurant will open in the former Rails Restaurant at 103 Lincoln St.. Originally a train depot, the building was the arrival site for thousands of Canadian immigrants. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal Buy this Photo
LEWISTON — There’s a new restaurant bound for Lincoln Street.
Kathy Lebel is opening the Station Grill in the historic railroad depot at 103 Lincoln St., planning to open by May 1. A former restaurant there, Rails, closed in August 2018.
Lebel and her husband, David, also own Schemengees Bar & Grille farther up the street.
She said Schemengees’ popular chicken tenders will be on the menu but otherwise for the Station Grill, she’s going for a lot of healthy options and keeping a railroad theme.
“I’ve been wanting to open up just a restaurant for quite some time because the location we’re at right now, people still think of Schemengees as just a pool hall, so it’s really hard just to draw people in,” Lebel said. “Once I get them in with our food, they love it. There’s always that, ‘Is it a bar or is it a pool hall or is it a restaurant?’ and I very much just want to open up just a straight restaurant with good home-cooked food, soups, salads, some steak, some pasta, a little bit of seafood.”
Rails restaurant opened in December 2014 after extensive work to the old Lincoln Street Grand Trunk Depot by the building’s owners, the Lewiston-Auburn Railroad Co.
Lebel said she started looking at the building last July and took time to pull a business plan together.
“The city and railroad company really wanted to make sure it was the right fit,” she said. “So they’re happy with us, we’re happy with them.”
The space will have inside and outside seating with a few changes to create a different feel, she said.
Lebel anticipates opening regularly Monday to Saturday for lunch and dinner and hiring a staff of nine to 12, some of whom are already training at Schemengees.
“I think the building’s cool, everything about it,” Lebel said. “We’re super excited about opening it up, we’re getting there. The best part is our customers over here that know us real well (keep asking), ‘When are you opening? We can’t wait.’ I’m three minutes away, I’ve already timed it.”
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