In October 2022, a restaurant located inside a historic train depot closed after the city of Minburn failed to reach an agreement on a new lease with the previous owner. That's when Michael Roberts stepped in and offered to buy the Nineteen14.
"I just love old historical buildings, so this kind of just fell in my lap," he said of the restaurant that sits along the 89-mile Raccoon River Valley Trail and served as a stopping point for bikers on the route.
It was important to him that Nineteen14 remained in the name, but for legal reasons he added "Depot." "Most people call it (Nineteen14) Depot anyway," he said.
Roberts also works as the general manager at The Handlebar in Dallas Center, which placed in the top 10 of Iowa's 2022 best burger contest put on by the Iowa Beef Industry Council and sits just eight miles south of Nineteen14. He has also owned Charlie Yoke's and BlueOwl Bar in Ames, and Yoke's Railhouse in Boone.
"I'm most excited just to keep the bike trail going, and keeping a small local restaurant open."
Roberts said the city of Minburn, with a population of 325 in 2021, was losing money being the landlords of the depot, and attempted to renegotiate better terms in 2022. When that fell through, Roberts stepped in and reached out to buy the business from the previous owner and lease the property from the city.
Timeline of the Minburn depot
Back in 1869, the Des Moines Valley Railroad laid tracks from Des Moines to Fort Dodge and Minburn was born. From the 1890s, Chicago Rock Island & Pacific Railroad leased the line, and then Minneapolis and St. Louis Railroad bought the line in 1906.
More than 50 years after the last train passed through in 1961, Minburn moved the brick depot built in 1914 across the street next to the Racoon River Valley Trail, where it was restored, became a cafe? and local museum and placed on the National Register of Historic Places list for its architectural significance in 2015, according to the town's website.
In 1914, the original depot burned down, replaced with a brick version, which inspired the name Nineteen14. The last train to pass through was from Union Pacific in May 2004. Three years later, the Minburn Community Betterment Group was established and initiated the depot's restoration, according to the city's site.
The town received a $1 million grant to restore the depot, which turned into a diner before becoming Nineteen14, Roberts said. "The town came together to preserve the building."
When the owner of the diner moved to another location, Nineteen14 opened around 2016, and remained in business for six years before closing in October 2022.
Roberts said the interior will remain the same since it's run by the National Historic Society. Nineteen14's menu will see a little change, but he plans to keep burgers. "Most items on there will stay, but I do want to add deli sandwiches and then do some features and specials for dinner."
Nineteen14 Depot
Location: 210 Fourth St., Minburn
Contact: 515-677-2828 or facebook.com/1914depot/
Hours: Open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and then Thursday through Saturday 5 to 8 p.m.
Noelle Alviz-Gransee is a breaking news reporter at the Des Moines Register. Follow her on Twitter at @NoelleHannika or email her at [email protected].