PETERSBURG, Va. — A historic bus station in Petersburg, once a site of civil rights protests, has been transformed and reopened.
The old Trailways Bus Station, which opened in 1946 and was a segregated building until 1960, has found new life as a café and cigar lounge.
The new owner, Faris Al Sanabani, bought the building in 2019 and made efforts to preserve its historical elements, including the original flooring and restroom doors.
"The more I researched, the more I fell in love with the building. And the more I understood the importance of a proper restoration of this piece of history," Al Sanabani said.
Residents expressed joy at the building's revival. Kerry Primeau said, "It’s wonderful. It’s brought this back to life and this town needs this," while Trent Jackson praised the effort to "preserve history while at the same time bringing in really amazing different cultural components of it."
The revitalized space features a unique coffee, tea, and pastry shop run by a fifth-generation Turkish pastry chef, along with a separate cigar lounge.
Mayor Sam Parham commended the restoration.
"Bringing in the old and the new and to create a new energy here, a new City of Petersburg that can commemorate the past but yet move into the future," Parham said.
Carolyn Ford from Dinwiddie County echoed these sentiments, saying, "I think it’s great that we can all be in the same building, all together and everybody is enjoying it."
The building, which sat empty for over 20 years, was added to the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places during that time. Today, with its new purpose, those who attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony believe it has a bright and tasty future ahead.
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