(rshsdepot) Poughkeepsie, NY

[Bernie Wagenblast <brwagenblast_@_comcast.net>]

Photo links:
http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/today/business/stories/bu021402s2p1.jpg
(snack bar)
http://www.rrhistorical-2.com/rlhs/images/namn02.gif  (exterior photo)
http://www.rrhistorical-2.com/rlhs/images/namn14.gif  (track area)
http://prozac.cwru.edu/jer/pc/pics/metropolitan/19770616_13.jpg  (trackside
with Penn Central freight passing through & Poughkeepsie bridge in
background)


Station snack bar celebrates 2 years

By Jennifer Karchmer - Poughkeepsie Journal

Annette DeCaprio said it's too early to tell if the new Poughkeepsie train
station parking garage, which opened in October, is helping her business at
the snack bar inside the station. Either way, on Feb. 16 DeCaprio celebrates
two years running Metro Coffee II, the train station concession stand.
''It's nice because we have a personal relationship with our customers,''
she said. ''We're like bartenders here.''
DeCaprio, 53, along with her sister-in-law, Terri DeCicco, rent the
concession stand space on a monthly basis from Metro North Railroad, a
division of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
DeCaprio, originally from Yonkers, also runs Metro Coffee I, the New Hamburg
train station snack bar, which opened in June 1999. She lives in Hopewell
Junction.
Master study discussed
Over the past two years, there has been talk of conducting a master study of
the station building but no timetable has been announced.
''I've heard about that master plan for two years now,'' DeCaprio said.
''Metro-North wanted to get the parking garage done first. I do whatever
they tell me. I have no problem with a month-to-month lease.''
Metro-North spokeswoman Majorie Anders said the Poughkeepsie station could
benefit from a powerhouse tenant like the Seattle-based coffee company
Starbucks, which recently opened a store at the Hartsdale train station on
the Harlem Valley line.
''The Poughkeepsie station is a beautiful building with a lot of
potential,'' Anders said. ''A master plan could include office space, a
dance studio, art gallery, any number of things. We are going to be doing a
study of that, what needs to be done, potential reuses.''
Charles North, president of the Poughkeepsie Area Chamber of Commerce, said
he knows of no concrete plans at the moment for new businesses at the train
station.
''We haven't really delved into the the concession and the snack bar,''
North said. ''I don't have any knowledge of expansion or refurbishing.''
Some customers say the snack bar enjoys steady business just the way it is.
''It gets real busy here in the morning,'' said Massa Sheriff, who commutes
from Queens to her job at St. Francis Hospital in Poughkeepsie. ''They're
really nice here.''

AT A GLANCE
STATION SNACK BAR
Metro Coffee II is open 5 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday; 8 a.m.
to 2 p.m., Saturday.
The concession stand is closed on Sundays.

------------------------------