ELLICOTTVILLE, N.Y. (WKBW) — A ski season staple, The Ellicottville Depot, is getting ready to reopen for its 47 th season, and it’s first under new leadership. This year, operating under the Bar-Bill Tavern family of restaurants.

The Depot, as it’s more commonly known, was first opened in 1979 by Vicky Brown and her late husband Chris “Moose” Brown.

For 46 seasons, the business has been adored by locals and skiers alike, but when it closed its doors in March, worry set in.

“[It is an] Ellicottville institution,” owner of the Boardroom Snowboard Shop, which is across the street, Spencer Timkey, said. “Last thing anybody wanted to see was the building to get torn down or for it to turn into something hyper-commercialized.”

Just in time for ski season, John Crook, the owner of the icon

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