It’s the end of the line for the Big Train Family Restaurant, a Colorado Springs comfort food favorite for more than a half-century.

Big Train, at 808 Garden of the Gods Road, closed last Friday.

Owner Rashell Kolthoff cited a downturn in business that began in 2019 when the restaurant relocated to Garden of the Gods Road from its longtime home at the Fillmore Marketplace shopping center, northwest of Fillmore Street and Nevada Avenue.

The restaurant had operated out of a free-standing building in the Fillmore Marketplace parking lot; it moved when the center was redeveloped, which included the closing of its anchor Kmart store. Some customers thought the restaurant had closed as part of the redevelopment and didn’t realize it remained open at another location, Kolthoff said.

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The COVID-19 pandemic then exacerbated Big Train’s woes, she said. In early 2020, the state ordered the closure of restaurant dining rooms to combat the spread of the coronavirus; later it limited customer capacities before restrictions were lifted.

“When we moved, it kind of hurt there,” Kolthoff said. “And then the pandemic hit, that made it even worse. Whenever they talk about the numbers going up for the COVID cases, we slow down.”

She received two loans of nearly $50,000 each through the federal government’s Payroll Protection Program, which was created to help businesses pay employees during the pandemic. But while the loans helped with payroll, they couldn’t help attract customers, Kolthoff said.

In recent months, rising operating costs also took their toll, she said. Her overhead expenses were about $33,000 a month.

“We were working on getting them down,” Kolthoff said. “Getting the utility bill a little lower. Then (Colorado Springs) Utilities raised everything up. Food costs went up. Utilities went up. Labor went up. Everything went up except the customers.

“It takes a lot to keep this place going,” she said. “Just not enough customers to keep it going. You can’t raise the prices on the menu too much or you lose your customers that way, too.”

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Big Train had opened a little more than 50 years ago, Kolthoff said. It took its name from nearby freight trains that carried goods to and from area businesses, according to its website.

Original owner Reva Smith died in 2017; her niece, Reva Pendleton, operated the restaurant for about 15 years before selling it to Kolthoff in January 2020.

Kolthoff’s late husband, James “Jimmy” Kolthoff, was Pendleton’s cousin; he and Rashell always  dreamed of owning Big Train, the restaurant’s website said. But her husband died in a December 2015 motor vehicle accident; Rashell sought to honor their dream and agreed to buy the restaurant when Pendleton offered to sell it four years later.

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Big Train had a down-home feel, and its menu of biscuits and gravy, chicken-fried steak, homemade meatloaf and many other items was popular for years among residents and tourists.

“Never a franchise or a chain, we’re just a good, old-fashioned diner in the great American tradition,” Big Train’s website said. “And like diners dotting the heartland, we’ve always had a family of loyal regulars.”

Big Train’s announcement on Facebook of its closing generated dozens of responses from loyal customers who bemoaned the loss of the restaurant.

“I’ve had many great breakfasts at both locations over the years,” one commenter wrote. “Where am I going to get my chicken fried steak?”

“Great memories going with mom and dad,” another wrote. “Mom loved biscuits and gravy!!!”

“I am so sad another local landmark business is closing,” still another commenter said. “Eating at Big Train was the only good thing about Mom dragging us to shop at Kmart. You will be missed.”

Big Train is one of a handful of longtime businesses that recently closed or plans to shut its doors.

Downtown eatery El Taco Rey never reopened after the September death of its family matriarch; it had operated for 45 years. Andy’s Meat Market on Platte Avenue will close at the end of February after 70 years following the recent death of the founder’s daughter-in-law.

Kolthoff said she invested $90,000 of her retirement savings into Big Train over the last two years, using the money for a down payment and to operate the restaurant. She won’t get that money back, she said.

Kolthoff isn’t sure what she’ll do next. She said she might get into residential real estate, but also has a couple job offers to consider.

“This pandemic has really put the hurting on everything,” Kolthoff said. “I wish it would go away. But I don’t think it’s going to.

“I fought it as long as I could,” she added. “I just couldn’t keep going anymore.”

Teresa Farney of The Gazette contributed to this story.