Lily Korolkoff and her then-boyfriend, Ben Rollins, were lamenting limited options for local craft beer and spirits while on a visit to Woodstock when they spotted a “For Rent” sign on a relocated former train station. It turned out that the monthly payment for the Tinker Street building was exactly what they were paying for a studio in Harlem.

A decade later, the now-married couple is about to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Station Bar & Curio, the bar and music venue that the couple opened at the onetime depot. They’re marking the date on Saturday, June 27, with music by El Aris, a pig roast from Woodstock Meats, and craft beer from Industrial Arts Brewing Company.

Underpinning the operation are offerings that have served as Station’s foundation since its opening—New York State spirits and craft beers, creative cocktails and, according to the bar’s website, “comforting bar bites.”

“It’s been a blast,” said Korolkoff, 41, a member of the Woodstock Town Board. “I’ve made some amazing friendships, incredible kinships and had bands start here.”

Quipped Rollins, 42, “I got better at pool.” 

Station’s customers have included Phil Lesh, the late bass player for the Grateful Dead, who performed multiple times at Levon Helm Studios in Woodstock. Actor Jason Momoa filmed his HBO Max reality show, “On the Roam” at the venue. And the cast and crew of “The Real Housewives of New Jersey” left a positive impression on the Station team when they turned up recently for filming. 

“I come here to see the old faces that I remember from yesterday, meaning a while ago,” said one customer, Bobby “Chicken” Burke of Saugerties. “It has some of the old spirit of Woodstock.”

Korolkoff said the anniversary bash is designed to spotlight “a bar we created to give the community a place to go and be comfortable and act as a living room and a space for everyone to connect on an equal playing field.” 

That living room was once a train station that served the hamlet Brown Station in Olive before the area was flooded to create the Ashokan Reservoir, according to the Town of Olive. The station was relocated to Ashokan, which it served until 1954.

While Station says its next location was unclear, the building sat unused until 1970, when the late Woodstock artist and businessman Victor Basil bought it, moved it to 101 Tinker St. and opened a hair salon. Woodstock residents Korolkoff and Rollins run the venue with their partner, Zaia Martinez of Boiceville, 34, who grew up in Woodstock.

The interior retains its original footprint, featuring nooks and crannies that make up its vibe. Customers can see where, adjacent to an outside deck, freight was loaded onto trains. There are also old offices and cargo storage space and a passenger waiting room.  

Korolkoff and Rollins met in New York when they were in their early twenties, while  Rollins was a lighting technician in the live event industry and Korolkoff worked as a stagehand apprentice. The couple each worked up to 100 hours a week. 

Korolkoff, who grew up in Manhattan, spent time since she was a child at her family’s weekend home in Halcott Center. Woodstock has always been “close to my heart,” she said.

After becoming a couple, Korolkoff and Rollins regularly visited the Halcott Center home, where her father, also a stagehand, moved permanently after retirement. 

Korolkoff wasn’t new to working in bars. Her mother was a bartender who managed a bar in New York where Korolkoff worked as a bartender, as did Rollins.

The couple met Martinez, a customer who became their first employee, on the day Station opened. He had worked front-of-house positions at the old Bear Cafe and Peekamoose Restaurant & Tap Room as well as high-end restaurants in New York City and Los Angeles.   

Martinez had always thought the old train station would be a great spot for a beer garden, which Station operates in addition to the bar.

“I was just looking forward to something new in Woodstock and having a great local spot where I could go and hang out,” he said.

In some ways, the demands of running a bar represent the culmination of their experience, Rollins said.

“We did a lot of production in the city and a lot of it had to do with creating really cool environments and tearing it all down,” he said. “This was an opportunity for us to take all of our experiences and see what happens if we don’t take it down—and let it age.”

John W. Barry is a reporter for The Overlook. Reach him at john@theoverlooknews.com.