New Frontrunner Tourist Center Nears Completion

Savvy Friends of Matt craftily nail down the entire Frontrunner tourist concession

This morning's Standard-Examiner reports on the continuing progress of Emerald City's Frontrunner station dining car/tourist information center, which has been the topic of several earlier reader discussions here at Weber County Forum:

OGDEN — The conversion of an old railroad dining car into a tourist information center at the downtown intermodal hub is rolling along and should be completed next month city officials say.
Improvements to the car’s exterior are complete and efforts are now under way to renovate the interior, which will include restrooms and a cafe, said Phil McDonald, the city’s fleet shop supervisor.
The exterior of the dinning car will be painted with a high-adventure and “Welcome to Ogden” theme.
A directional sign to various areas of the city will be constructed next to the car.

Yesiree, it won't be long now before hordes of de-training tourists arrive in Ogden, seeking out the MattGodfreyWorld high adventure fake trolleys, fake rock wall, fake ice cliff and fake sky diving ride located in our downtown center. And when that time comes, it will be Friends of Matt who will be there to help them out.

This morning's story also reveals that Boss Godfrey has selected a lucky concessionaire to operate the cafe which will be situated within the revamped dining car:

In addition, Jeanie Milne, owner of The Hole, a dough- nut and specialty drink shop at 2393 Wall Ave., will relocate her operation to the dining car.
Her new business will be named Jeanie’s Cafe and Deli and will serve doughnuts, drinks, sandwiches and soups.
Milne said she is pleased the city has selected her as the concessionaire for the rail car information center, because it will provide three times more space than The Hole.
“Working hand-in-hand with the city has been incredible.”

Regular Weber County Forum readers will of course recall that Ms.Milne is also one of the clever entrepreneurs behind the high adventure faux trolley system, which Boss Godfrey has commissioned to ferry tourists between and among the various carny tourist attractions (which are bound to put our fair city on the world high adventure recreation map.)

We congratulate Ms. Milne and her business associate Mr. Laub, for quietly and decisively nailing down the entire Frontrunner tourist concession, at a time when our Emerald City Council probably wasn't even aware there was a valuable Frontrunner tourist concession up for grabs. Further compliments to Ms. Milne too, for wisely abandoning the unfortunate trade name, "The Hole," and adopting something a little bit more visitor friendly and less self-effacing.

No word this morning from Ace Reporter Schwebke on the final cost to the taxpayers of the Frontrunner tourist center project. Although it's been rumored that costs have now ballooned into a region at least quadrupling the project's original $34 thousand council appropriation, we suppose Mr. Schwebke believed this to be a question too trivial (or inelegant) to ask.

So what say our gentle readers about all this?