Lunch counter to close at Kelso Depot Visitor Center

Visitors will no longer be able to enjoy a bite to eat at the Kelso Depot "Beanery."

Staff Reports
Victorville Daily Press

KELSO • After more than four years in operation, the Beanery Lunch Counter at Kelso Depot Visitor Center will close at the end of the month. The counter’s operator, Mike Williams, will serve his last lunch on Tuesday, according to a Mojave National Preserve news release.

Williams took over the lunch counter at Kelso Depot in 2008.

“I’ve enjoyed meeting people from around the world here at Kelso,” Williams said. “But it’s time for me to move on to other activities.”

The National Park Service spent a year searching for a replacement for Williams but was unable to find someone new in time to keep the lunch counter operating, according to the release. Although 50,000 people per year visit Kelso Depot, it is far from any town, presenting challenges for prospective business operators.

The National Park Service is currently exploring other food service options for the near-term, the release stated.

The Kelso Depot Visitor Center is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday through Tuesday.