The Depot Cafe will be closing after 34 years at the historic San Carlos train station. Owner Mary Noviscky said her patrons have been hard pressed to find parking near her business as a new transit center has gone up adjacent to her business.
After 34 years of welcoming those traveling through the San Carlos Caltrain station, the Depot Cafe will be closing in less than three weeks.
On Feb. 18, owner Mary Noviscky and her family will be readying their last orders of omelets and sandwiches for the many generations of patrons who have become regulars at the breakfast and lunch restaurant.
Reflecting on the many early mornings and customers who have grown up in her restaurant over the years, Noviscky said the decision to close the restaurant was heart-breaking.
“This is kind of like our second home and a second home for many, many of our customers,” she said.
But for Noviscky, the changes taking shape around the building she has leased for years have been taking a toll on her business. Ever since crews have broken ground on new parking lots serving the station early last year, Noviscky said her patrons have been hard pressed to find parking near her business in the historic building.
Noviscky said the 12 spots previously available to her patrons have been cut down to six, which she said have been moved around as a new transit center has gone up adjacent to her business. Aimed at providing commuter parking and designated drop-off zones for multiple modes of transportation, construction of the San Carlos Transit Center has been managed by SamTrans. The project has been in the works alongside a 202-apartment, eight-building project dubbed the San Carlos Transit Village for several years since the housing development was approved in 2013.
Because many of Noviscky’s regular customers are seniors, have physical disabilities or families with small children, the changes to the parking her customers relied on are among the many factors she considered when she made the decision to close her restaurant.
According to SamTrans spokesman Dan Lieberman, the agency has worked to protect the business from the impact of construction by reducing rent and ensuring the restaurant had the closest available spots as different sections of the parking lot were closed during construction.
“We have been happy to have the Depot Cafe as a tenant for many years and are sorry that they have chosen to end their lease, but we look forward to the project delivering a model transit-oriented development,” he said in an email.
Lieberman noted the building is also protected by a historic preservation covenant, meaning any changes to it must comply with the document.
Noviscky said even though customers can park in spots located a short distance away from her restaurant in the new lot, the walk has been a deterrent for those with disabilities or other health issues.
Mayor Bob Grassilli noted the challenges that come with major changes, especially those on the Peninsula that have taken shape at a rapid pace. He said he could understand the frustration of those saddened by the closure of what many consider to be an institution.
“The way our society is today, to have a business that’s lasted 34 years, it’s pretty amazing,” he said.
(650) 344-5200 ext. 102
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(6) comments
A reduction of $100 monthly in rent is negligible. I share others' frustration in the atmosphere it seems San Carlos is taking. While driving around for 45 minutes last night to pick up dinner for the family after a day at work,it was very frustrating to see so many fancy looking people jaywalking over to Town, cutting across Laurel in their fancy BMWs and Mercedes, honking and cutting each other off and running stop signs to grab a parking space. I'm sick of it.
How many MORE lies can Dan Lieberman have come out of his mouth as spokesperson and I am disappointed in Bob Grassilli that his comment was all he could come up with.
COME ON BOB!
San Carlos was once the nicest city on the Peninsula, if not the entire Bay Area. I moved there in 1968, got married there, raised my family there, even worked there.
Historically, San Carlos operated with a surplus, while neighboring cities, like Belmont, struggled. The members of the City Council had all been born and raised there and understood just how special San Carlos was.
Chickens' Ball was a great "local" event. When Home Town Days started it was fun.
Slowly, things started to change, and not for the better. New residents of San Carlos started to run for City Council. They started to chip away at things and began to ruin what made the town so great. Through mismanagement, we lost the Police Department, Fire Department, and even the Public Works Department. Now the administration has to contract for services. Building Codes have changed. When Eureka Federal Savings was built in the '70's it was a huge deal, a four story building!
Now, everything going up is four stories. There is no place to park, there a few services. At one time there were three hardware stores on Laurel Street; there were clothing stores, shoe repair shops movie theaters and even a bowling alley. Now everywhere you look there are overpriced Italian restaurants (overrated too), coffee houses, yogurt shops, and bundt cake stores. There used to be three groceries stores on Laurel Street and Safeway on San Carlos Avenue.
To see Mary lose The Depot Cafe is very, very sad. It is one of the last "local" businesses and its been driven out too.
I finally moved a couple of months ago, prices, traffic and parking were awful, but so were many of the people. It gets really tiring seeing "Yoga" pants every time you walked into Bianchini's; being worn by people who haughty attitudes that think "they" are really special, not the town...
Their idea of "rent ajustment" was $100 a month....
According to SamTrans spokesman Dan Lieberman, the agency has worked to protect the business from the impact of construction by reducing rent and ensuring the restaurant had the closest available spots as different sections of the parking lot were closed during construction.
Might be time for Mr. Grassilli and some of his pro-development colleagues on the San Carlos City Council to go the way of the Depot Cafe. Very sad that we are losing another small family owned business in this community to development that should never have been approved.
Agree 100% - I grew up in San Carlos and its really a shame how its changed
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