Melia Harding, from left, Elan Krull and Alyeska Krull work through a typical order while training for the grand opening of Brew@602 on Kleeb Loop Road, a coffee and waffle shop located inside a double decker rail car. (Photo by Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)

Melia Harding, from left, Elan Krull and Alyeska Krull work through a typical order while training for the grand opening of Brew@602 on Kleeb Loop Road, a coffee and waffle shop located inside a double decker rail car. (Photo by Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)

On track: Brew@602 scheduled to open Thursday

  • By KAT SORENSEN
  • Saturday, December 23, 2017 9:07pm
  • News

Everything at Brew@602 is on track for a Thursday opening, including the coffeehouse itself.

Since guiding two train cars to the top of Kleeb Loop, just outside of Soldotna, Mary Krull has been working to transform the locomotives into a local destination for coffee and more.

Brew@602 is housed in a bright blue rail car overlooking the Sterling Highway and is open for business starting this Thursday at 7 a.m. The coffeehouse will be open seven days a week until 5 p.m. and serves an assortment of coffee sourced from SteamDot Coffee Roasters in Anchorage, all while maintaining the ambiance of a rail car. Customers can order a selection of drinks with thematic names, like a ‘Casey Jones,’ or choose from a savory or sweet waffle before choosing from one of the authentic rail car seats which are equipped with power and USB outlets.

“I’ve taken this vision that was in my head and now it’s real,” Krull said. “Not many people get to do that and I got to take this idea and make it reality.”

Krull said Brew@602 is designed to give people a unique experience. Unlike other coffee shops in the area, Brew@602 doesn’t offer a drive up order window, instead inviting people in to sit and stay a while.

“I imagine people staying,” Krull said. “I think that is the biggest thing is come and sit in the rail car and to experience the rail car. A lot of people have never been in a train and I want to give them that experience without actually riding on one.”

The coffeehouse is just the first piece to what Krull has dubbed ‘Whistle Hill.’

Brew@602 will share an entrance way with Frames and Things, the Soldotna-based picture framing store, which will open in early 2018.

“This has been one of the smoothest developments that I’ve been a part of,” said Krull. She said most of the credit goes to her construction company, Batir Construction, who worked diligently on Brew@602 and is continuing work on the second train car, called Addie Camp, which Krull said is slated to open for business before summer.

“We are rolling right into the second train car,” Krull said. “(Addie Camp) will be a full restaurant and a beer and wine garden. That should be open May or June.”

And although the train doors haven’t, officially, opened yet, the staff at Brew@602 are ready to go full steam ahead.

“This week has been all about training,” said Assistant Manager Elan Krull. “… And we’ve had some random people walk in and we’ve served them. We’re just trying to work through the flow.”

Reach Kat Sorensen at kat.sorensen@peninsulaclarion.com

Alyeska Krull puts the finishing touches on a coffee drink during the final days of training before the grand opening of Brew@602, a coffee and waffle shop located on Kleeb Loop Road. The shop will be serving Steam Dot coffee from Anchorage. (Photo by Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)

Alyeska Krull puts the finishing touches on a coffee drink during the final days of training before the grand opening of Brew@602, a coffee and waffle shop located on Kleeb Loop Road. The shop will be serving Steam Dot coffee from Anchorage. (Photo by Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)

More in News

Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion
Brad Snowden and Julie Crites participate in a Seward City Council candidate forum at the Seward Community Library in Seward on Thursday.
Seward council candidates discuss issues at election forum

Participating in Thursday’s forum were Julie Crites and Brad Snowden

Cam Choy, associate professor of art at Kenai Peninsula College, works on a salmon sculpture in collaboration with the Kenai Watershed Forum during the Kenai River Festival at Soldotna Creek Park in Soldotna, Alaska, on June 8, 2019. (Peninsula Clarion file)
Soldotna adopts arts and culture master plan

The plan outlines how the city plans to support arts and culture over the next 10 years

Architect Nancy Casey speaks in front of a small gathering at the Fireside Chat presented by the Kenai Watershed Forum on Nov. 30, 2022, at Kenai River Brewing in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Watershed Forum’s Fireside Chats return Wednesday

The chats will cover a range of interesting topics, centered on knowledge, research and projects

Erosion of the Kenai bluff near the Kenai Senior Center. (Photo by Aidan Curtin courtesy Scott Curtin)
Kenai to sign bluff stabilization agreement Monday

A signing event will be held at 5:30 p.m. at the Kenai Senior Center

Engineer Lake Cabin can be seen in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge on Nov. 21, 2021. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
Public comment accepted for proposed rate increases for overnight fees at refuge

Campsites would increase $5 per night and cabins would increase $10 per night

Abigal Craig, youth winner of the Seventh Annual Kenai Silver Salmon Derby, is presented a novelty check by Kenai River Sportfishing Association Executive Director Shannon Martin, City of Kenai Mayor Brian Gabriel, and Kenai Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Samantha Springer at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Silver Salmon Derby nets fish, funds for river protection

116 fish were weighed by 79 anglers across the six days of competition

Soldotna Public Works Director Kyle Kornelis talks about the Soldotna field house project during a Soldotna City Council meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna awards field house contract

Anchorage-based Criterion General, Inc. will construct the facility

Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Peter Micciche testifies before the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly during a meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Assembly to let borough mayors speak sooner during meetings

The mayor’s report will now be given after the first round of public comments and before public hearings and new assembly business

Assembly members Lane Chesley, left, and Richard Derkevorkian participate in a borough assembly meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Haara/Peninsula Clarion)
Assembly asks state to allow term limits for school board members

Alaska Statute does not allow term limits to be imposed on school board members

Most Read