Delicious New Digs
Rail Restaurant Returns in New Location
Writer / Alli Donovan
Photographer / Jubilee Edgell
Westfield restaurant Rail is back and better than ever. After closing its doors due to COVID-19 restrictions, the breakfast and lunch spot reopened in October of 2022. Owners Melanie and Toby Miles couldnt be more excited to revive the restaurant in the Westfield community.
Both have more than a decade of experience in the restaurant industry, and between the two, they have performed about every function in the industry. They saw an opportunity when opening Rail at its first location in 2014.
When we opened Rail, we wanted to have a place that served local food – locally grown food, Melanie Miles says.
The couple incorporated farm-to-table foods for a breakfast and lunch restaurant on Park Street. This restaurant was in the bottom floor of an old barn. They quickly discovered that they would need to expand into the top floor and serve lunch and dinner due to the demand of their customers. The couple even opened an ice cream shop, Cone + Crumb, next door to the barn in 2019.
However, 2020 hit the restaurant hard. Miles knew she and Toby would ultimately have to close one of their businesses, and the choice was Rail.
Through 2021, they reassessed their businesses and goals. The two realigned what they wanted to achieve through their businesses. Ultimately, the decision was to reopen Rail.
Especially after the pandemic, take-and-bake and grab-and-go became much more popular, Miles says. We knew we wanted to bring back Rail.
The search for a new space began. The couple found their new location and felt it was a perfect match. The new location off of State Road 32 has allowed them to expand within the restaurant itself and provide more accessibility, being located just off one of the main roads in Westfield.
With a fresh start comes many changes, new dreams and new goals for the owners. They are excited to have a dedicated and experienced team serving new and existing customers. The reach and accessibility of the new location is a huge opportunity for the restaurant to gain more customers. Another big goal for the owners is to allow more local products in the store. With almost double the square footage in the new location, Miles is excited to partner with more local food makers and growers, to sell their products in Rail.
Another large change involves focusing on counter service and bartending, rather than exclusively being a full-service restaurant. This meets what many customers need post-pandemic, and allows the Rail owners to achieve their goals while providing a market and place to go for breakfast, lunch, drinks or snacks.
Existing customers will see many of the same faces at the new location. We were lucky to have almost our entire staff follow us to this new location, Miles says. We love being able to have people working for us who can connect with our customers.
One feature has remained the same at Rail, and that is the delicious selection of food. With a variety of options on the menu, the list spans from biscuits and gravy to a crab-roll sandwich to whipped feta.
The menu includes breakfast foods, pastries, bakery items, salads, sandwiches, soups, a chefs menu, and an array of beers, wines and cocktails.
Rails fan favorite is the pork chop, listed on the menu as The Chop. The cold-smoked pork chop is grilled perfectly, resulting in a taste similar to a delicious ham. They are smaller than they were at the previous location, as they are now intended as shareables, Miles says.
Order The Chop and other top-rated menu items, such as the chocolate cake and the chicken salad, to make it a perfect trip at Rail.
The owners dedicate much of their success not only to each other and their staff, but also to the entire Westfield community.
I feel like the people of Westfield are just really good about supporting local, Miles says. They are just so loyal and really want to make sure we are doing well. I have never seen this amount of support anywhere else.
Rails new location is at 3400 Nancy Street, Suite C in Westfield. Follow their Facebook and Instagram pages for more information and mouth-watering pictures of menu options.
