The Station restaurant, beer garden starts construction

Work has started in Downtown Auburn on The Station Public House construction. Plans are for an indoor restaurant and bar, with a covered patio leading to an outdoor beer garden in what is now a Lincoln Way vacant lot. The concrete patio was put in last week by Dustin Cravy Concrete Co. of Colfax after openings for doors had been cut into the 750 Lincoln Way building. General Manager Tyler Lovejoy said work started on the project at the start of July and is targeted for an opening of the new business by the end of the year. Next up is framing work inside, electrical installation and a new patio cover. At the same time, another crew will be working on landscaping what will be the outside beer garden, complete with a bocce ball court, giant chess and checkerboards and areas for the cornhole beanbag tossing game. Two garage-style doors will fill the openings in and out of the 1,142-square-foot restaurant-bar interior. A custom bar-top with 30 tap handles will front seating for 24 inside. Outside, the 6,800-square-foot vacant lot — once the site of business enterprises ranging from a boarding house to a furniture store to a locksmith — will be transformed in the next few months.