Inside The Mercantile
Walk through the doors of The Mercantile at 2501 Grant Avenue and you’re immediately pulled into two timelines. In the present, the counter hums with clinking cups, chalkboard menus promise lattes and cheese boards, and sunlight bounces off black ceilings and checkered tile. But just beneath the surface, the room whispers of another era—one where soldiers once boarded buses, families hugged goodbye, and the clatter you’d hear wasn’t a milk frother but luggage wheels across terrazzo floors.
That’s because this café and market was once Ogden’s Union Bus Depot, officially opened on November 28, 1940. The cornerstone inscription still survives, hidden behind a wooden panel at the back: “The Depot was opened on Nov. 28, 1940. Hitler was raisin’ hell in Europe at this time but England had him on the run.” Eighty-four years later, you can still order a cappuccino in the very spot where war-weary parents once sent their sons off to fight.
A Collaboration in Community Flavor
The Mercantile is what happens when three of Ogden’s food icons decide to do something together. Roosters Brewing Co., Kaffe Mercantile, and Beehive Cheese joined forces to rescue a vacant landmark and turn it into a modern gathering place. Roosters had been Beehive’s first restaurant customer years ago, and Kaffe has long been part of the city’s daily rhythm. Here, their collaboration feels effortless: coffee drinks and brunch items in the morning, cheese boards in the afternoon, and Roosters pours carrying the vibe into the evening.
And it’s not just a café—it’s a stage for community. Once a month, Wine Wednesday pairs local pours with Beehive’s cheese, while music nights and patio events turn the old depot into a cultural hub. (Check their website for the latest calendar—these nights fill fast.)
From Buses To Burritos
For half a century, the depot was Ogden’s transportation heart. Greyhound eventually took the reins, and the building throbbed with the rhythm of arrivals and departures—soldiers leaving for Vietnam, workers returning home, kids craning for the first sight of grandparents.
When the buses stopped in the late ’90s, the building began a restless cycle of reinventions. It was home to Entrepreneurial Station, then Imaging Depot, then Berlin’s Fine Meats & Deli, then Sabores de Mexico. Each chapter left a trace, but none endured. By 2019, the building was silent, a ghost of its past vitality.
That changed in 2021 when Roosters purchased the property and pulled in their longtime friends at Kaffe and Beehive. Together they led a restoration as meticulous as it was heartfelt: historically accurate paint colors, Art Deco lighting fixtures, architectural details preserved instead of erased. A salvaged bus bench—once headed for the landfill—was reupholstered in jade and now sits proudly in the café, anchoring the Green Bench Listening Series, where locals gather to share memories tied to the building.
That attention to history earned The Mercantile a Preservation Utah Adaptive Reuse Award in 2024—and, more importantly, brought a vacant corner of downtown back to life.
More Than a Café
Today the depot is buzzing again. Instead of buses, it’s lattes, cheese boards, and wine glasses moving across tables. Instead of departures, it’s music and laughter spilling onto the back patio. The Mercantile proves that buildings can change their function without losing their soul. It’s not just a place to grab coffee—it’s a place to remember, to connect, and to feel like you’re part of Ogden’s ongoing story.
It feels like Ogden distilled: collaborative, historic, and still moving forward.
NOTES FROM THE HORSE
“Neigh.”
Until next time,
Raw, weird, and local.
