The Business
Established in the spring of 2012, The Filling Station Microbrewery is a family owned and operated business, dedicated to friendly, knowledgeable service and the highest quality of hand-crafted brews and edibles. Located on the Boardman Lake Loop Trail in the historic railroad district, The Filling Station features a rotating list of house beers pouring on 20 tracks, which pair perfectly with our wood-fired flatbreads and fresh salads. Whether on your own, meeting friends, or with your family, patrons of all ages feel welcome in our casual pub-style setting — inside the depot or out on the track-side patio, with the occasional train passing by. So whether traveling by car, on foot, or riding the loop trail, we invite you to stop by and become a part of the Filling Station family.
The Food
Our handcrafted beers and ciders pair perfectly with our house-made wood-fired pizzas and fresh salads. Every aspect of your meal — the pizza dough, the sauces and oils, the salad dressings — are created from scratch. Our thin flatbread crust lets the freshly chopped, sliced, and roasted toppings take center stage. With temperatures hovering around 700-800 degrees, our wood-fired oven produces a delicious flatbread pizza in a matter of minutes.
The Beer
Head Brewer Tom Hodges applies his extensive knowledge, attention to detail, honed skills to produce distinctive, pure styles of craft beer — everything from West Coast IPAs to classic styles from across Europe. Tom brews on our 10-barrel system, carefully selecting each ingredient to consistently produce a number of Filling Station fan favorites, while always looking to create the next new favorite brew!
The Depot
In July of 1880, passenger trains arrived in Traverse City for the first time via the Chicago and West Michigan Railroad. While those first trains were met by an excited crowd, the first permanent freight and passenger depots were not completed until that fall. The original passenger depot stood east of Union Street, next to the Hannah, Lay grist mill; the freight depot still stands at the corner of Cass and Lake. The next significant change came in 1899, when the C&WM combined with the Flint & Pere Marquette and the Detroit, Grand Rapids & Western to form the Pere Marquette Railroad. For the next few decades, use of these rails continued to grow — and with business booming, the Pere Marquette built a new Traverse City depot on Boardman Lake. On January 6, 1927, the brand-new depot opened to high acclaim, with railroad officials calling it the finest station on the entire Pere Marquette line. It has stood the test of time: that depot is the current home of The Filling Station Microbrewery.
Following WWII, the rail business that had played such an integral part in the development of the Traverse City area began to drop off sharply, and regular intercity passenger service ended on October 29, 1966. In the years since, the depot building has housed a bank, a coffee shop, an eco-car company, and a furniture store, while sight-seeing and dinner trains came and went from these rails. Today the Great Lakes Central Railroad provides freight service to the Traverse City area — and there is optimism that passenger service will one day return. Until then, we’ll continue to provide a welcoming spot for everyone to visit the old depot and enjoy some ales by the rails.
Credit for this brief history: “Sails & Rail: A Narrative History of Transportation in the Traverse City Region” by Lawrence & Lucille Wakefield, and Wikipedia.
