But trains stopped carrying passengers through the depot in 1960, and by the time the city bought the land for $1 in 1991, it had been out of use for years. Residents wanted to see it preserved, so the city renovated the old building — now a city landmark — for more than $459,000.

In 2000, two area families made it into a custard shop and kept it running until about six years ago, when they decided they wouldn’t re-open it after it closed for the season.

Stark and his friend Keith Brown had been working there for five years when they heard Whistle Stop was going to close. They had just barely become adults — Stark was 22, Brown 21 — but, with their experience, they still imagined they could do the job better than most. So their families bought the shop and, bit by bit, they learned how to run their own restaurant.

Customers say they like the shop’s several little touches that ooze charm and make it pleasantly different from other food joints.