A heartfelt goodbye to Depot Dog

Last night I got the chance to talk with the owner of Depot Dog about the very hard decision his family has made to put their restaurant up for sale after taking time to pray and discern on it. They have a strong faith and a deep love for our city and its people. They also have a timeless gratitude for how much our city and the surrounding communities have supported them for so many decades.

I took time to tell them how much their family and restaurant have meant to our whole city and also to Meg and I personally. Depot Dog was the restaurant that I went with Meg to for lunch on a summer day when she and I were still in our first year of marriage and living in our apartment in Crown Point and doing our own prayer and discernment about if we were going to buy a house that was for sale in Portage or renew our lease later that month and stay in Crown Point.

We ended up buying the house and still live in it today, and we’ve been going back to Depot Dog over and over again every summer during it’s open season.

We will always be thankful for the amazing memories and for how much they gave to our city, most recently after the August derecho when they came and served a free lunch to all our city employees in the middle of the hardest part of the recovery process was going on.

Change can be hard, and while I don’t know what is coming next in this case, I know the future is going to stay bright for the corner of Melton and County Line. I also know that Portage will always be thankful for the Bass family and all they’ve done for us over the years.