You walk in the door of the refurbished train depot and are immediately hit with the smell of freshly cut apples, sweet frosted cakes, and delicious cinnamon buns. The original wainscoting wood interior flashes at your eyes, as does all the new shiny silver appliances including sinks and ovens. As of April 2008, The Green Mountain Country Depot has become one of Castleton’s most popular spots. The coffee shop-bakery-deli has a variety of offerings for when your stomach aches.

Kelly Draper and Lynn Kratochuil, previous owners of a bakery in Poultney, decided that Castleton was a place for them to get a new start.

“We have wanted to open this place for years,” said Draper. “We feel as if Castleton locals are more appreciative of our hard work, then the locals of Poultney.” In the near future, The Green Mountain Depot will be the location of the new Castleton train station stop. Located at 266 Main St., Castleton locals will finally have their own train station.

“Castleton has not had a train station in years. We hope to further own business, and get more popular from the people stopping at our shop,” said Draper.

People around town have been raving about how good the Depot is. Word on Main Street is that the depot is known for homemade desserts, meat stack sandwiches, and daily homemade breads.

“I come here every Friday after work,” said Kim Miller, a patron and Castleton local. “There hasn’t been one thing I’ve tasted that I haven’t enjoyed.”

In addition to the food, Draper and Kratochuil are very popular among the customers.

“They are very pleasant people, always greeting with you with a big smile.” Miller said.

“When you walk in, they always greet with me a very friendly greeting,” said Lydia Jenks, a Castleton student who grabs food there almost every day. “Besides their great attitudes, their food is amazing, especially their cupcakes and mac and cheese.”

When spring falls, Draper and Kratochuil said they plan to make some additions to the building to add to their menu.

“We plan on putting an outdoor BBQ pit to cook our meats” Kratochuil said.

The shop is open Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. For all you late sleepers, the owners urge you to wake up early because breakfast is only served until 10:30 a.m.

“We enjoy being here just as much as everyone else enjoys us being here,” said Kratochuil “The college students and Castleton locals are very supportive.