Demarest's Old Train Station Is Becoming a Restaurant. This October, It's Still the Town's Festival Ground.

The stone depot at 24 Park Street is older than the name on the borough's welcome signs. Passenger trains started stopping here in 1859, when the town was still called Harrington. The stop was already known as Demarest Station, after Ralph S. Demarest, who promoted the rail line from Jersey City to Piermont in the Assembly and the State Senate. The building that stands there now went up in 1872. For the 60 years since the last passenger train left in 1966, it has been a public building, first as a community space and later as a senior citizen center.

That is about to change. The borough has awarded a lease that will turn the depot into The Station, an American brasserie that Mayor Brian Bernstein's September 11 update says will open in 2027. Before then, the ground around it has two big Saturdays in a row this month. Downtown Demarest is moving from a block run entirely by civic events to one built around a working business, and the borough has set up that change so the building stays a shared place.

A Railroad Building Designed by a Museum Architect

The New Jersey Historic Preservation Office lists the depot as Romanesque Revival and names its architect as J. Cleveland Cady. According to The Record, Cady also designed the old Metropolitan Opera House and the American Museum of Natural History in New York. The stone came from Ralph Demarest's own property. The Northern Railroad of New Jersey ran passenger service through the stop for 107 years. The Record credits that service with bringing a distillery, a hotel, a trotting track and an optical lens factory to the area.

The building's protections are already on the books. New Jersey added it to the State Register in June 2004, and it is in the National Register of Historic Places collection. The borough has also put grant money into it. A 2001 preservation grant paid for planning, and a 2002 grant covered work on the roof, dormers, ornamental details, drainage and slate. Those layers of protection and public spending explain why the move to a restaurant has gone slowly.

How the Borough Chose Its Tenant

The borough still owns the depot and is leasing it out, not selling it. Council records show the process took more than one round:

1. July 14, 2025. The council rejected the only bid, from Cure Companies LLC, as nonresponsive because it lacked financial statements, proof of liquidity and bid security.
2. September 8, 2025. The council authorized a new bid solicitation to lease the depot as a café or restaurant.
3. October 27, 2025. The council awarded a five-year lease to David Sasson, the only responsive bidder, who proposed a modern American brasserie serving lunch and dinner. The resolution lets him assign the lease to a single-purpose LLC.
4. November 24, 2025. Borough officials said lease terms, including outdoor seating and garbage arrangements, were still being negotiated. They also said the tenant would have to follow construction, zoning and historic preservation rules.

The winning bid sets base rent at $96,000 for the first year, with 3 percent increases each year of the initial term. At that rate, rent reaches about $108,000 by the fifth year. That income goes to the borough from a building that brought in no rent as a senior center.

Of everything in the November minutes, outdoor seating matters most to anyone who knows this block. A restaurant with a patio at the depot would sit in the same space the town uses for its biggest outdoor events. No signed final lease or Planning Board approval has been published yet, so those details are still open.

The restaurant's own site describes the building as being restored and reimagined while keeping its original details. According to Boozy Burbs, that includes references to the building's past as a passenger depot on the Northern Railroad of New Jersey. The menu is planned as American brasserie food inspired by classic French dining: seasonal dishes, approachable favorites and cocktails. The Bergen County Girl's fall roundup adds that it will have indoor and outdoor dining.

"The Station will honor the historic nature of the train station while invigorating our small downtown area and providing a restaurant that will offer our community a warm and friendly place to gather and enjoy good food and conversation."

Mayor Brian Bernstein, September 11, 2026 update

Two Saturdays Around the Depot This Month

This October may be one of the last autumns the depot block works only as a civic gathering place. It has two big events on consecutive Saturdays.

Saturday, October 3: Oktoberfest Fall Festival. The Demarest Nature Center runs this one from noon to 5 p.m. It has a craft show, food and drinks, canoe rides, birdhouse building, square dancing, local crafters and farmers, and environmental information tables. All proceeds go to the Nature Center. The Nature Center says the festival takes place between the Demarest Train Station and the Duck Pond, right in the middle of town. It's a good place to get an early start on holiday gifts.

Saturday, October 10: Demarest Day. The Recreation Commission and Borough Council moved this year's America 250 celebration from September 26 to its rain date because of expected bad weather. The schedule the mayor published looks like this:

The borough's notice does not name a venue. The Nature Center's calendar lists the rain-date event at Duck Pond Road, so check the borough site for the exact location before you head out. Volunteers and donors can still get involved by emailing Lee Campbell at the borough.

Between the two festivals, the Nature Center's trails are open to anyone who wants a quieter visit. The 0.8-mile Trestle Bridge Trail leads to a historic trestle over a stream. The preserve covers land on both sides of the railroad tracks, so the old line runs right through the town's main nature area.

The Depot Is Only Part of the Downtown Plan

The depot lease is one piece of a bigger plan. In the same September update, the mayor reported that a redeveloper is in place for the former bank building. Final plans are expected to go to the Planning Board for site plan review in the coming months. He credited the council's Economic Development Committee, Council President Slowikowski and Councilmembers Carmeli and Jiang, with encouraging responsible development downtown.

The rail line has its own long-range plan. In December 2023, the borough passed a resolution supporting a study of reusing the former Erie-Lackawanna/CSX Northern Branch as the Northern Valley Greenway, a corridor for walking and biking. That idea is still at the study stage. Even so, the station, the tracks and the land along them all have reuse plans in progress at once.

The restaurant is expected in 2027, the bank building is headed for site plan review, and this Saturday the Nature Center sets up its craft tables between the depot and the Duck Pond. To follow the restaurant's progress or join its guest list, visit The Station's website.

When a borough-owned landmark becomes a working restaurant, the change reaches the homes on the streets around it. If you own near downtown Demarest and want to talk through what the Park Street projects could mean for your plans, Stacy Esser Group can walk you through it. Schedule a Meeting Today.