LONGMONT, Colo. — A historic gas station in Longmont will soon reopen with a new life and purpose following years of renovations.
Vintage gas pumps at the former Johnson's Corner still catch the eyes of those passing by the Prospect neighborhood.
"I grew up in Longmont, went to Silver Creek High. I remember when the building was over on Main Street, so it's just been, again, such a landmark in the community," said developer Zachary Nassar.
The building was built in 1937 by Eugene Groves and was originally located on Main Street before being moved in the early 2000s to the Prospect neighborhood. Elizabeth Beaudoin, curator of history at the Longmont Museum, said Groves and his architecture left its mark on the city.
"[Groves] came to Colorado in 1914 for his health, and he quickly became an architect in the area," Beaudoin said. "He designed eight buildings on CSU's campus, and he patented a lot of different, new ways of working with concrete, which was a new and modern material at the time. He worked in what is called the art deco pueblo style."
While the building itself has unique charm and character, it has been years since it has been operational.
"It was moved in 2003 when Ken Pratt was expanded. It was saved by Kiki Wallace, he was the developer of the Prospect new town neighborhood," Beaudoin explained. "He just fell in love with the building and moved it to its current location. It did sit for almost 20 years, just waiting for someone to come and renovate it."
Longmont local Nassar and his development group purchased the building to bring it back to its original purpose of serving the community.
"We bought the property, and we're really unsure what we were going to do with it, what it would become," Nassar said. "We threw around a ton of ideas and ultimately landed on that it was such a great community space. We wanted to open it up to the public, and we thought what could be better than a place where you can get a hamburger, a drink, sit back in the backyard here that we created and just enjoy yourself."
Now named Johnson's Station, the space offers a full patio along with multiple dining options. The business worked with local vendors to help stock the bar with local drinks, along with food items.
"We'll do just drip coffee and nitro cold brew for people who are looking for caffeine for work... then really a lot of local breweries, a lot of local spirits, we're trying to source most of our items locally and then try to do pretty much zero waste," said Sofia Silva, Johnson's Station general manager.
There are still nods to the building's past, including vintage gas pumps, which were converted to charge electric vehicles.
"That’s what it was in the past. It was an old road stop fill station where you could fill up your car," Nassar said. "Back in the day, where there was a diner attached to most of these, so you'd get your car filled, you'd have a meal, you'd hang out for a bit. So that seemed to fit just in line with the electric vehicle era, where you can plug in your car, come in, have a drink, get a hamburger, and then be on your way."
Johnson's Station's grand openingwill be on Sept. 13 from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. In the weeks to come, Silva said the business will be open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. every day.
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