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Depot Coffee House to close April 2

The coffee house has served as a chemical-free gathering place and youth leadership training ground for 25 years.

HOPKINS, Minn. — A railside landmark in Hopkins will be closing its doors after 25 years of providing hot coffee and leadership opportunities for young people in the community. 

Described as a coffee house run by students FOR students, The Depot Coffee House announced on its Facebook page that it will be shutting down operations on April 2. 

In a post detailing the closing, the partners behind the operation (the cities of Hopkins and Minnetonka and the Hopkins Public Schools) explained that in recent days the facility and program manager resigned and that the Depot does not have the revenue stream to support the re-hiring of a program coordinator. 

Operators say The Depot has been running at a deficit for several years, mostly to outside factors including Highway 169 and light rail construction, the COVID-19 pandemic and limited funding.

"At its heart, the Depot’s primary mission has always been to provide a safe, chemical-free environment for students and youth in the community," reads the Facebook post. "It has been a space for youth-focused programming and leadership development. The City and our partners have committed to continue funding the Depot Youth Board activities while we spend the coming months working together to find the best way to maintain youth programming and leadership development and opportunities to continue serving the Depot’s mission."

In recent years The Depot also served as a trailhead for the Three Rivers Park District, offering parking, water, restrooms and a bike repair station. The post says those facilities will not be impacted by the Depot's closing. 

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