Some much needed renovations to High River's Whistle Stop Cafe thanks to it's new owner, David Moretta.
He recently bought the old dining car from Dwayne and Patty Johnson and wants to restore it to it's former glory.
He says for now, it's all about fixing the train car's leaky roof, but that's just the beginning.
"There's about three or four phases to this full restoration, which will probably take two to three years to fully do. Then we'll probably be doing the outside and the exterior. We'll pop all the windows, replace all the gaskets, which are gone. Repaint and really freshen the whole thing up."
Moretta says they're open during the renovations, but it's only the train car getting a face lift, not the menu.
"We're not making any major changes are anything like that. This is a two year transition for me. In the end we won't be changing anything dramatically. We'll be adding dinners, and a patio."
He says despite rumours to the contrary, he's had experts in to give the old car the once over and they say the train car's in great shape structurally after not being renovated over the last 30 years it's been in High River.
"It's solid. It was built to last. After this, it'll last another 30 years as well. But it's just so important to save this as a landmark for the Town. It's a big draw for tourists. Now that it's right here with the Tourists Visitor Centre, it's really important that this sort of looks as good as the rest of the town does as well."
Moretta, who's enrolled in SAIT's Culinary Arts Program as part of his transition to owning a restaurant says, once the roof is done they'll concentrate on other minor reno's.
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