Coffee Depot

Good times were had by all.

DUDE! is a surfer band from the late 80’s.  The band members, as far as I know, all came from Redlands Junior Academy.  It had been many, many years since they had played together but nobody could tell, they played so great I dare say it was totally tubular.

True Tale mostly came from PUC, the same college Lauren Cross from DUDE! went to.  Hearing them play again brings back so many memories.  I still have a tape of theirs from way back then, it’s just too bad I can’t find a tape player anywhere.

Our depot was originally built in 1904 by the San Pedro, Los Angeles and Salt Lake Railroad (SPLA&SL RR).  The first train stopped at the depot on March 12, 1904. Union Pacific took over the station in 1921 and ran both passenger and freight trains until they closed their doors in 1971. 
A gentleman, in every sense of the word, named Billy Peterson use to come by the depot on a regular basis to tell stories of when he lived in the depot from the ages of 5 to 20 years old.
Billy’s father use to be the station-master from 1915 to 1930.  During this time Billy, along with his four siblings and parents, lived upstairs.  Billy unfortunately passed away in 2006 but not before he was able to pass along many stories with his friends and family through numerous tours of the depot nostalgia.
The upstairs northwest corner happened to be Billy’s bedroom.  He recalls on many occasions climbing out the window and jumping off the roof to go meet with his high school sweetheart – his grandchildren simply knew her as Grand-ma.  On his personal tours throughout the depot he would never forget to mention the back stairwell.  He said it still creeks in the same spot it did back in the 1920’s, he remembers that noise so well because that was how his mom would catch him sneaking back in after curfew. 
Sometime during the 1960s the patio was enclosed to add more space for the Union Pacific employees.  The library and patio was filled with the trafficking department who were in charge of all the Union Pacific trains in Southern California from Los Angeles to Blythe.
Passenger services ended at the depot in 1971.  Thanks to the recommendation by the California Department of Parks and Recreation the building was listed in the “National Registry of Historic Places” on April 18, 1977.  The National Park Service said the “paramount significance” of the depot “lies in it’s architectural design – an early and excellent example of Mission style popular at the turn of the century.”
During the very long and difficult process of renovating the beautiful historic depot the discovery of the original fireplace was a very pleasant surprise.  It had foolishly been covered up by a wall.  We were told it was covered up because somebody did not like the so-called clash of the original brown and green tiled fireplace next to the original white and blue stone tiled floor.  This same brown and green tile use to run throughout both the library and the lounge area at approximately 6 feet high.
The depot remained empty for 29 years until December 26, 2000 when it once again opened it’s doors as Coffee Depot.

It is always a nice surprise to find flattering articles about Coffee Depot from people who have enjoyed their time at our place.  This is what makes all of us smile til it hurts. 

http://blog.globalyp.net/eating-drinking-places/coffee-depot-does-more-than-just-coffee-in-riverside-ca/

Coffee Depot has been voted # 1 Independent Coffee House by MyFoxLA.com for both 2008 and 2009.  City Voter is how people vote for their favorite coffee house.  Click on this link to find out what people say about Coffee Depot.

http://cityvoter.com/coffee-depot-3204-mission-inn-ave-riverside-ca-92507/loc/93661

For years Coffee Depot has gone to college campuses for special events.  We have been a great hit on the golf courses during tournaments.  And we have also been very pleased to be there on employee appreciation day for several companies.

Our espresso bar has also been a great addition or alternative to alcohol at wedding receptions. 

For over nine years Coffee Depot has hosted an Open Mic night at our beautiful historic depot in Riverside, California.  It started out as an Open Mic Acoustic Jam with Ruby Gumbo as the host band.  Over the years it has gone through several changes.

At times certain websites has voted us as having the #1 Open Mic in Southern California.  There are so many great and talented artists in Riverside and the surrounding area, we really are blessed to have such great musicians gracing our stage.  We never know who might show up, an original member of the Gypsy Kings, cats from the Brian Setzer Orchestra, Sammy Hagar, who knows.

Coffee Depot has live entertainment on a nightly basis but Open Mic Thursdays have always been my favorite night.  Some weeks the feeling and the vibe just becomes unbelievably awe-inspiring.  The pictures on the right were all taken in one night. 

If you have not experienced our Open Mic night, I dare say you are missing out. 

Open Mic is every Thursday at 7pm.  Try to be there by 6:30pm to put your name in.  Three to four names get drawn at a time throughout the night.  You need to be ready and tuned before you get on stage.  It is all acoustic, we have a full PA system, just plug in and play.  Everyone gets 3 songs or roughly 12 to 15 minutes per artist.  Must be original music.