Historic Mason Depot Diner, closed after fire, was second home to many

MASON - Kathy and Rod Hunt haven't served coffee to customers at the Mason Depot Diner for two weeks, not since a devastating fire closed the historic eatery.

Now customers bring the coffee to them.

On any given morning, you'll find the couple sitting in folding chairs in the diner parking lot having coffee and donuts with long-time depot customers who haven't let the restaurant's closure affect their routine.

The Mason Depot Diner was an active hub for Michigan Central Railroad's trains for more than 50 years. Today, the century-old structure, built in 1902, is a designated historical site, but many say the Hunts' hospitality and friendship is why customers keep coming back to eat there.

The Hunts, who lived in an apartment on the depot's second floor for more than 25 years and are temporarily staying in a trailer next to the building, are just as much a fixture in their lives as the business, said Skip Deharo.

A customer since 2003, Deharo has visited the Hunts nearly every morning since the fire.

"If Rod and Kathy opened a business down the street, customers would still come," he said.

It's why so many people are rallying behind the Hunts to help get the restaurant's doors back open.

"They treat people like family," said long-time customer and friend Byron Russell. "And they aren't alone."

'A family'

Mike Kollin has been a depot customer for two decades. It's one the most unique eateries in the area, he said.

Where else can you find more than 50 coffee mugs hanging on the wall and stacked on shelves that belong to certain customers who brought them in, keep them there and use them whenever they stop by for coffee.

The decorations on the walls are a mix of gifts customers have given the Hunts over the years and photos of customers taken over the years.

"That’s them, but it’s also the city itself," Kollin said.

Rod Hunt spent more than a decade working at Sammy's Lounge in Holt, before he and Kathy bought the depot 28 years ago.

“When I worked at Sammy’s, the motto was ‘Give people good quality, fast service, hot food and don’t overcharge them so they come back," he said.

The Hunts lived by that rule at their depot.

The previous owners had purchased it from the Michigan Central Railroad, Saginaw Division, in the late 1970s and opened a restaurant there. It had been vacant since 1953.

“We bought it and put our heart and souls into it,” Rod Hunt said

Six days a week, they offer scratch-made breakfast and lunch items like biscuits and gravy, generously-sized pancakes, cabbage rolls and meatloaf.

Kathy and Rod work side by side in the kitchen and visit with customers every day.

"It’s all homemade," Kollin said. "It’s all really good, too, but once you go to eat there you become part of that family."

The Hunts want their customers to feel like they're being invited to someone's home for dinner.

“You make them feel at home," Rod Hunt said. "I’d say 75% of the people know each other and they yell across the room when they’re here and talk to each other. This is a gathering place. On Saturday’s, they up at the door from 8 a.m. until we’re closed. They pull tables and chairs together. It’s kind of like you’re at a family reunion.” 

'This is our life'

Inside the Mason Depot Diner's dining room on Thursday morning, the table tops were set — individual bundles of silverware wrapped in napkins at every seat.

But everything, from those bundles to the table cloths, was covered in thick, black soot. It covered parts of the wall, reached to the ceiling and blanketed the diner's 1924 antique cash register.

The diner was already closed on the afternoon of July 1 when Kathy Hunt returned from the grocery store around 3 p.m. 

“I smelled something burning, so I looked down in the basement and saw flames coming from the water heater,” she said.

Fire fighters battled the blaze for several hours, while it engulfed the basement and ate away at the floor beams and joists. There was extensive smoke damage to the restaurant's dining room and second floor. 

The water heater, where the Hunts believe the fire started, is located just below the depot's kitchen. 

"The structure was all under the kitchen,” Kathy Hunt said. “They have to take everything out and build it back up again.”

The Hunts stood outside their home and business that afternoon and evening, watching as the fire burned. Fire fighters worked to put it out, and customers and community members showed up to give the Hunts what they could.

“When something like this happens you have no idea what to do,” Rod Hunt said. “I can’t even remember half the people who were here that night, offering this and that, help, condolences.”

Those offers to help them rebuild haven't stopped since the fire, and the Hunts, who customers describe as "humble" and "family oriented," have been urged to accept all of them.

Convincing them to do that wasn't easy, Kollin said. For days after the fire, the Hunts resisted letting him establish an online fundraising campaign to help them rebuild.

"(Rod's) got a heart as big as Mason," he said. "If he can help people, he’ll help them and he’d rather help than be helped."

Kollin got their permission to establish the online effort five days after the blaze. It's raised over $2,000, and Kollin is grateful for every donation.

The Hunts said friends and customers have stopped by the property to hand them gift cards and offers to help. Russell donated the trailer they are staying in and others have helped them sort out next steps.

“Woke up today with people outside the trailer,” Rod Hunt said Thursday. “All the customers have turned into friends, family.”

Now, the Hunts hope to repair the building, move back in and go back to feeding the community they love.

“This is our life," Rod Hunt said. "We live here and work here. We want to get back up and working. That's who we are."

Want to help?

Anyone interested in donating to the online fund raising effort established to help Rod and Kathy Hunt repair the Mason Depot Diner can contribute at www.gofundme.com/masondepot.

MORE AT LSJ.COM:

Dean Transportation blames delay in bullying inquiry on Lansing officials

Gordman's to open Charlotte store this September

Historic one-room school for sale in DeWitt Twp.

Contact Rachel Greco at rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @GrecoatLSJ.

Help the State Journal provide more features on interesting people and places that matter to you. Subscribe now for only .33 cents per week. Visit bit.ly/2UnxlJE.