WINCHESTER, Va. — After six years, The Laurel Center’s Railway Café is finally ready to serve its first guests.
The small restaurant and coffee shop at 430 N. Cameron St., based inside a completely refurbished former train station, is open for business.
The new café is managed by Donnie Hawkins, a former executive chef at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. “I was looking for a platform to be able to give back to the community, help individuals that are in need and empower people,” Hawkins said. “That’s what I’m here to do.”
The Railway Café’s story began in April 2019 when The Laurel Center, a nonprofit provider of shelter and support services for domestic and sexual assault survivors in Winchester, Frederick, Clarke, and Warren counties, purchased the former CSX train station with plans to use the facility for workforce training for the center’s clients.
Before significant renovations of the historic train station could begin, the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in March 2020 and brought a halt to the café project. By September 2023, the extensively remodeled building was nearly ready to open, but Power said she wanted to wait until The Laurel Center had completely paid off the $1.5 million it took to buy and convert the train station that had been built in the late 1800s.
The Railway Café will provide two vital services. First, it will be close to the Our Health campus on North Cameron Street, giving the people who work for the nonprofits located there a nearby dining option. Second, the café will employ clients of The Laurel Center, providing them with valuable job skills so they can better support themselves.
The Railway Café will offer ambitious menus for both breakfast and lunch. Morning items range from a simple biscuit and gravy to a full steak and egg breakfast, and there are a la carte items so people can build their own meal. For lunch, customers will be able to choose from salads, sandwiches, and platters, and there will be a kid-friendly menu as well. For people in a hurry, the café will have an abbreviated Grab and Go menu featuring both breakfast and lunch items for takeout. Beverage options range from fountain sodas to bottled juices, teas, and energy drinks. You also can order a cup of “Coffee with a Cause” as a reminder that all proceeds raised at the restaurant support The Laurel Center and its clients.
The Railway Cafe won a 2023 Jurors’ Citation for Responsible Design Award from the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Northern Virginia Chapter. The cafe was designed by Tim Machado, owner of the Design Concepts architectural firm in Winchester. The project was constructed by Howard Shockey & Sons, Inc., also in Winchester.
When asked how it feels to finally be opening the Railway Café after six years of work, Power smiled and replied: “It’s amazing. I’m so excited for the community. It’s going to be a great place.”
Source: The Winchester Star. Read the original article here. Photo credit Tim Machado.