Looks like the Kimball House website is up and running.

No menu yet, but you can view progress on their interior renovation HERE and also apply for a front or back of the house job!

Photo courtesy of Kimball House website

Eater Atlanta posted a couple photos of the under-renovation interior of the Decatur Depot/Kimball House.  We’re posting one pic here with Dave Blanchard’s permission.

There’s also one other photo taken in the other direction over at the Eater website you may want to check out.

Dave told us last month that the build out would take approximately 4 months.

BREAKING  – Big Monday morning restaurant news here in Decatur!  Dave Blanchard of the Brick Store Pub/Leon’s Full Service fame gives DM the scoop…

The Kimball House Hotel once stood on an entire city block of downtown Atlanta. It played host to famous musicians, athletes, politicians, local heroes and artists as well as scoundrels, vagrants, con men and loose women. As with many of Atlanta’s marvelous old history-laden structures, it was razed in the 1960s. In the spirit of progress and preservation, and as an homage to the barmen who kept the beautiful hotel lounge, we are resurrecting the Kimball House name. The new restaurant and bar, Kimball House, will be located at the historic Railway Depot in Decatur, Georgia. The food will encourage gathering. The drinks will encourage conversation. Kimball House will smell like bacon and taste like seawater.

Much has been done to improve the Atlanta drink scene in the last ten years, especially with beer and cocktails. We hope to contribute to this storyline and offer something new and old along the way. We hope to add to the culinary landscape and cook with the seasons while taking full advantage of our local southern bounty.

At Kimball House the rumble of a nearby train and the constant clatter of the cocktail shaker will barely be distinguishable from the laughter of neighboring tables. It will look like a restaurant but feel like home. No jackets required (except perhaps denim). Dirty jokes lauded. Local heroes, scoundrels, vagrants, con men and loose women all welcome in the Spring of 2013.

Wikipedia’s got some good info on the old first and second Kimball House if you’re interested.

Depot photo courtesy of jimmywayne via Flickr, Kimball House photo via Wikipedia

Ever since the Morse family handed over 7.2 acres of land over to the Decatur Preservation Alliance in 2002, the endgame for what would soon be called “Woodlands Garden” was to become it’s own independent entity.   This year, that goal became a reality.

According to a note from DPA Board Chair Stephan Swicegood, Woodlands Garden was granted non-profit status and on September 30th the Decatur Preservation Alliance transfered title of the Woodlands property to Woodlands Garden of Decatur, Inc.

Asked about the future of the DPA, Mr. Swicegood told DM…

DPA will live on. For many years now, we have produced (with help) the MLK Service Project that happens around the MLK holiday each January. DPA is the legal and financial entity responsible for the event. With Woodlands on their own, we’re excited about being able to put more time and resources into making MLK an even more successful event.

…our plan going forward is to operate as an all-volunteer organization, which means the maximum amount of our financial resources can go to those we are serving through the MLK project.

For those new to Decatur, the DPA was created back in 2001 to help save the old Decatur Depot from demolition.  (In fact, I just found their old “Help Us Restore the Decatur Depot” website if you’re looking for a blast from the past)  With help from city staff, the org raised over $100,000 to move the Depot just a few feet away from the railroad tracks and took possession of the building from CSX.

Chris Billingsley sends in some excellent photos circa 1988 of what he believes may have been the last passenger train to ever stop at the Decatur Depot.  He writes…

While looking for some pictures for a school project, I found something from 1988. As I remember, the New Georgia Railroad had plans to bring tourists from Atlanta to Stone Mountain with a stop-over in Decatur. I believe that we still had double tracks that allowed trains to run in both directions (east to west) at the same time. The large tree seen in the background was the same tree that shaded a president (maybe Warren G. Harding) in a famous photo from the early 1920s .

Two more great shots – with captions! – after the jump…

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I’ve received two separate reports of this so far today, so I feel comfortable reporting it.  Both Nittany313 and Gretchen write in that the “Farmstead 303” signs at the Decatur Depot are being taken down and replaced with “Rail Kitchen & Bar”.

Nittany added that she followed up with staff at Feast – which is under the same ownership as Farmstead – and they said that the same ownership remains, it’s just a new concept.

I followed up with ownership this morning via email for more details on this new name and concept, but have yet to hear back.  More info as I have it.

After a pre-opening party for friends and fam on May 29th and 30th, Farmstead 303 opened up this Tuesday, June 1st in the Decatur Depot.

While parts of Farmstead’s website are still under construction, the first seasonal menu is up, kicking and awaiting your perusal.

Of particular interest, Farmstead is utilizing its excess land along the train tracks to install 13 raised garden beds around the property to grow and serve ULTRA-local food.  The video below gives a brief tour of what’s currently planted around the property.