(rshsdepot) Ashland, WI

[Jim Dent <jdent_@_erols.com>]

-From the Ashland, WI Daily Press...

Depot employees mark anniversary of fire 

Some have moved on, others wait for new business

Rick Olivo
The Daily Press

A year after the blaze that gutted the historic Soo Line Depot in Ashland,
The roofless walls still jut skyward, blackened debris still fills the collapsed
interior, forlorn reminders of what was once one of the most popular dining
and drinking establishments in the region.

Meanwhile, area business and government officials are still trying to put
pieces of the financial puzzle together that will lead to rebuilding of the
landmark structure.

While the loss of the Railyard Pub and the Depot Lounge and restaurant has
been a blow to the faithful customers who flocked there for meals and
craft-brewed beer, the brownstone and wood, glass and concrete that make
up the Depot were not the only casualties of the April Fool's Day fire.

Over 50 Depot employees abruptly found themselves themselves without
jobs following the conflagration, wondering if they would ever again work at
the place most thought of as far more than a job, a way of earning a
paycheck.

In the year that has passed, some former Depot workers have found other
employment, and have gone on with their lives in new directions. Others have
hung on as best they could, hoping one day to start working anew for Depot
Owners Mark And Val Gutteter and South Shore Brewmaster Eugene "Bo"
Belanger.

For those who have patiently awaited that day, their hopes will soon reach
fruition as the Deep Water Grille continues to take shape on the 800 block of
Ashland's Main Street West. An opening sometime this spring is planned for
the new facility. Beer is already being brewed at the on-premises South
Shore Brewery.

For those whose lives have taken a different turn, their Depot memories will
always be something special, something to cherish. For those who plan to
pick up where they left off, the final days before the Grille opens are perhaps
the toughest to wait out.

The first anniversary of The Great Depot Fire was observed Sunday by the
former Depot employees who gathered at the still-under-Construction
Deepwater Grille, to share food, drink, and fellowship with their former
co-workers, to recount Depot war stories and to talk about what has
happened to them over the course of the last year.

Uta Kamantauskas, a Depot waitress for many years, is now teaching
science, biology and computer networking at Ashland High School.

"I've moved on, actually when the building burned down I had already given
my two weeks notice," she said.

Nevertheless, despite having planned to leave anyway, she too felt the pain
of the loss of the Depot.

"I think the best quote was 'Ashland's living room just burned down,'" she
said. "It was special to a lot of people."

Kamantauskas said part of the Depot's magic was the sense of family the
workers enjoyed.

"When the old homestead burns down, it kind of hurts, and that's what it felt
like," she said.

She credited much of the magic felt by Depot workers to the management
style of co-owner Mark Gutteter.

"Mark has been incredible in the way he's made sure his employees have
stuck around and been able to stay here. You don't find that kind of loyalty
-From a boss, period. The employees know they have something special. It's
something that a whole lot of other employers could learn from."

Kamantauskas said the special feeling between owners and employees
spilled over to the Depot's customers.

"We did enjoy our jobs and we enjoyed them, you got to know people by
name, you got to know the regulars very well, you could joke with them and
have a good time with them. I think the community recognized that, and that's
why they kept coming. I think they're all waiting for it to start over again."

Kamantauskas said the efforts made by the owners to keep the staff intact
will pay off when the Deep Water Grille opens.

"When they open, this place is going to be packed," she said.
"The people is what made that place special," agreed former chef Kevin
Cousins. "It was a gathering of every different type of person you could
imagine. They were all there for the same reason, to have a good time."

Cousins, who has found work at the Platter Supper Club is also one former
Depot employee who will not be returning, but he said he will treasure his
time at the Depot.

"I have a videotape that was made of me cooking there, It's something that is
very, very valuable to me,' he said.

Cousins also predicted that the Deep Water Grille would have much of the
same atmosphere that made the Railyard Pub a local institution.

"So many of the same people will be here; it's going to be just as fun, if not
better," he said.

For Jordan Grunoe, an brewing assistant at the South Shore Brewery, when
he first heard of the Depot fire, he thought it was a sick April Fool's joke.

"It's led to an interesting year, but it's time to get back to work," he said.

Grunoe said a fierce loyalty to the Gutteters and the Depot spirit was
commonplace among workers, past and present.

"It's the best day job I've ever had," he said "There is a lot of respect that
flows both ways, from the top down and from the bottom up."

Grunoe and others said this was one reason why so many workers were
willing to put their lives on hold for a year until a new operation could get
underway.

"I've just kind of been finding things to do until this got going. Now I'm back
and part of building a restaurant, which is absolutely thrilling to me," said
Dave Miller, an assistant chef. "Pretty much the whole crew is getting back
together again. That's what is going to make it really awesome I just can't
wait. Every day, I want to get back to cooking."

The one common thread among former Depot employees was perhaps best
summed by by waitress Melissa Turvell.

"It was the best place to work. You couldn't go to work and not have a
good time," she said.

Like many others, she has patiently waited for the new operation to start up
again. Although it's been a sacrifice, she said it has been worth the effort.

"It's a family, I couldn't work any place else," she said. "The people here are
too close and dedicated not to feel that way."

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