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City board approves rezoning for service station |
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Friday, 15 August 2008 |
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After a public hearing Tuesday night at city hall, a new restaurant will replace an empty service station on East Main Street.
Local resident Dianne Henry and her husband, Dale, operated a full-service gas station at 410 E. Main St. for 28 years. They purchased the station in 1981, and according to Henry, it had been a part of downtown since the 1960s.
With the climbing price of gas, they decided to close the business.
“We decided that we couldn’t continue going the way we were going,” Henry said. “We decided we would put in something else.”
The couple closed down the service station operation on June 1, 2007. But, Henry wanted to have “something” in its location.
“We needed something to put in there,” she said, “and we didn’t feel West Point needed another convenience store, so we decided to put in a restaurant.”
Henry envisions a family-style establishment serving breakfast and lunch that is a safe place for local youth.
“Our goal is to have a place where kids can go after school and get ice cream and milkshakes,” she said.
Henry is a step closer to that goal after a City Council hearing Tuesday night. The Board of Selectmen agreed to rezone the property from residential/office to central business district.
After the vote had been taken, Mayor Scott Ross wished Henry “luck with the business venture.”
Work was well underway at the station Thursday, where contractors, family members and others were scrambling to complete all of the necessary painting, wiring and plumbing by next month.
“It’s crunch time,” said Jennifer Henry — Dianne and Dale Henry’s daughter. “We’re trying to be open by Prairie Arts (at the end of August). It’s coming along at the right rate.”
The business will continue to be called The Station, she said, as it known around the West Point community.
Henry’s boyfriend Fred Williams, who is a chef, will be manning the kitchen in the new restaurant. He said the eatery will have a diner feel and offer some typical diner fare along with some healthier selections. Patrons looking for fried entrees like chicken fried steak will not find them at the new restaurant.
“We’re not looking to compete with anyone else in town, we’re looking to compliment them,” Jennifer said. “We’re hoping Fred’s experience will bring a flair to the restaurant scene in West Point.”
The tanks on the site will remain in place, she said, because the family may sell fuel again if gas prices come down.
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 16 August 2008 )
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