The Endion Station in Canal Park opened its doors once again on Friday, July 25. This time, the historic building is dubbed the Endion Station Public House Bar and Grill. Purchased by Brewhouse owners Rod Raymond and Tim Nelson in 2012, the new bar and restaurant is the fifth official Brewhouse location with its famous beers on tap.
The tap house does offer something new to Duluth: a larger selection of cider. Along with its seven Brewhouse house beers and seven guest beers, there are six distinct types of cider. The focus on cider is so much so that the establishment has been dubbed Duluth’s first cider house. The food is incredibly appropriate for the Lakewalk setting; the restaurant side serves burger sliders and mini bratwursts named after classic railroad terms. The Old 227 burger is named after the locomotive that ran iron ore to Duluth and Two Harbors, while the Hogger burger is named after a humorous nickname for locomotive engineers.
The opening was a classy but low-key gathering of Brewhouse enthusiasts. The Current broadcasted from Endion’s porch, playing popular Duluth music and holding live interviews with the likes of Mayor Don Ness and Alan Sparhawk and Mimi Parker of Low fame. Mayor Ness enthusiastically talked about his Duluth’s dynamic history, the spirit that makes the city special, and his favorite Brewhouse beer: the Hoppellujah IPA. He also discussed in depth how important revitalizing the city’s history is in things like the new Endion bar and grill. “We’re proud of [Duluth’s] history,” said Mayor Ness to an enthusiastic crowd. “And we continue to make sure that we save that history by keeping our historic buildings … the historic reuse of the Endion Station right here is a great example; breathing new energy, new life into these old buildings.”
And the new bar and restaurant does hold true to its historic past. The walls are covered with historic pictures harkening back to Duluth’s railroad heyday that helped boost East Duluth’s economy. Old-time paraphernalia lined the shelves above the liquor and the lights hanging from the ceiling resemble the lights that hung when the station was originally for railroad passengers. Some of the staff was even decked out in apparel reminiscent of the 1920s.
The building itself has a lengthy and interesting history, spanning 115 years.
History
- 1899 – The Endion Station is built, became first passenger train station in Duluth. The building is constructed with Kettle River sandstone and pressed brick.
- 1961 – The station is shut down as a passenger train station.
- 1975 – The National Parks system adds the building to the National Register of Historic Places.
- 1986 – While Interstate 35 was being built through Duluth, the station had to be relocated to its current location in Canal Park, costing $368,000.
- 2012 – The building changed hand from city of Duluth to Rod Raymond and Tim Nelson, owners of Brewhouse, Tycoons, and Burrito Union.
- 2014 – The Endion Station opens up as Endion Station Public House Bar and Grill, serving cider and Brewhouse beer.
The Endion Station is open 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to midnight on Sunday and is at 200 Lake Place Drive.