Union Station 2010.jpg

Prospective buyers want to turn Union Station, seen here two years ago, into a banquet hall.

(Dave Roback / The Republican file)

NORTHAMPTON – Union Station, the building by the railroad tracks that has been dormant as a restaurant since 2011, will be coming back to life as a banquet facility.

Three Northampton businessmen, Jeremiah Micka, David Fortier and John Rhoades, operating as Notch 8 Inc., have a purchase and sales agreement to buy the rail-side property, including an adjacent parking lot, from owner Matthew Pitoniak.

Pitoniak closed Union Station two years ago, along with Spaghetti Freddy's, which was also in the former train station building. An open-air bar, The Deck, still operates outside during warm weather months. The Tunnel Bar, which runs underneath the building, is open year-round.

Notch 8 appeared before the License Commission Wednesday, asking that the food and liquor licenses be transferred to the new group. Micka, who currently manages the Tunnel Bar, said that operation will remain unchanged, as will The Deck. Notch 8 will create a high-end pub and sports bar to be called Platform Sports Bar in the rear of the former Union Station. The rest of the building will be remodeled as a banquet facility.

The commission approved the transfer of the licenses unanimously, clearing the way for the sale. Micka estimated a three-month build out time before Platform is ready to open. The banquet hall could take up to six months, he said. Customers will be able to move between the Tunnel Bar and the other businesses via an interior stairway.

The site has undergone a number of transformations over the years. The building operated for a while as a restaurant called The Depot. Before that, it served as a train station. The city plans to renovate an adjacent platform for commuters when passenger rail services resumes along the line in the next year or two.

The Northampton Center for the Arts inquired about buying Union Station earlier this year to serve as a base for its operations. Pitoniak rejected the offer, preferring to sell the property to another restaurant, according to Center for the Arts officials. The building has served as a venue in the past for First Night, the New Years Eve celebration run by the center.