"We view ourselves as a conservator of this incredible building," Dean Armstrong told the H-F Chronicle. He was talking about the 120-year-old former train station at 1035 Sterling Ave. that he and his wife, Carolyn, have run as Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery for three decades.

The Chronicle story ran Oct. 1, 2026, a few weeks after the couple's 30th anniversary. The Armstrongs have told staff they plan to retire and sell. Carolyn has been splitting her time between Flossmoor and Southwest Michigan, and family considerations settled the decision. They don't have a fixed timetable. They've had some interest from buyers and hope to finish a sale early next year.

So the place isn't closing, and it hasn't changed hands yet. This October is simply the last fall the founders are likely to run downtown's busiest corner. The news also shows how much of the village's public life runs through one private business, and how much the rest of Sterling Avenue has filled in over the past year.

A private business with a civic job

Flossmoor Station opened July 8, 1996. Last summer the village formally honored it for 30 years of community impact. The July 10 anniversary party drew more than 100 people to the patio. Dean Armstrong spoke, and so did Mayor Michelle Nelson, Trustee Jim Mitros, and state Rep. Will Davis. Xtra Xtra played, and staff worked the grill. When a brewpub birthday comes with a mayor and a state representative at the mic, the building plays a bigger role than most restaurants do.

The village's own calendar shows the same thing. The Pet Parade & Costume Contest, backed by the Flossmoor Business Association, steps off downtown at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24. Costume awards are handed out on the Flossmoor Station patio right after. A municipal event finishing on a private patio is the kind of arrangement nobody writes down, because for 30 years nobody had to.

Dean summed it up himself: "The H-F community has bought into this place and they take pride in it."

What the next owner takes on

A buyer gets more than a kitchen and a liquor license. The Armstrongs bought the building before they had decided what it would be. A stop at Dusters, a Michigan craft brewery, gave them the idea, and the Station became one of the first craft breweries in the south suburbs.

The brewing history is long:

• Greg Moen was the first brewmaster, and Todd Ashman became head brewer in 1997.
• Ashman and Matt Van Wyk wrote the original house-beer recipes. The Chronicle credits Ashman with starting the barrel-aged program, and Wooden Hell won a medal at the 2006 Great American Beer Festival.
• Ryan Czaja started as an assistant brewer and worked up to head brewer. Jake LaDuke, formerly of Werk Force, took over in 2023 and was brewmaster at the 30th anniversary.

Patch puts the brewery's total at nearly 100 awards, including the 2006 GABF "Best Small Brewpub in America" honor. The winning hasn't stopped. In July 2026, For The Sesh took bronze in Irish Dry Stout at the U.S. Open Beer Championship.

Then there's the building itself. Dean says two additions over the years cost extra so the historic and architectural character would stay intact. The caboose deck went in during 2000. The caboose has served ice cream and later beer. By this summer, Patch was describing it as a taproom and ice-cream shop next to a beer garden with a dog park and a fire pit.

Carolyn's main hope for the sale is about people:

"I'm hoping whoever it is will keep most of the employees anyway. That's my goal."

Some employees have been there for all or most of the Station's history. Several families have had more than one generation on the payroll.

October and early November around Sterling Avenue

The rest of the fall calendar is spread across the village, but much of it starts or ends near the station. In date order:

1. Tuesday, Oct. 6, 6–7 p.m. Crosstown Exotics brings its traveling reptile and bug show to the Helen Wilson Meeting Room at Flossmoor Public Library.
2. Tuesday, Oct. 13, 10:30–11 a.m. The library holds Storytime in the Park at Leavitt Park.
3. Tuesday, Oct. 13, 6–8 p.m. The H-F Park District's free Community Bonfire lights up Ballantrae Park.
4. Saturday, Oct. 24, 11 a.m.–2 p.m. The park district's Trick-or-Treat Trail runs at Millennium Park.
5. Saturday, Oct. 24, 3 p.m. The Pet Parade loops downtown, with costume awards on the Flossmoor Station patio afterward.
6. Saturday, Oct. 31, 3–7 p.m. Halloween falls on a Saturday this year, and these are the village's trick-or-treat hours.
7. Saturday, Nov. 7, 10 a.m.–1 p.m. At Pumpkin Smash at Coyote Run Golf Course, you can drop off pumpkins for composting and candy wrappers for recycling.

Library programs sometimes change or need registration, so check the library calendar the week of any event.

The block around the Station has filled in

Downtown's dependence on the Station looks different than it did two years ago. The streetscape project wrapped up with a ribbon-cutting on Nov. 29, 2025. It brought curb changes, wider sidewalks, outdoor seating, and bike racks along the blocks the Pet Parade walks.

Since then, a handful of independent shops within a block of 1035 Sterling have posted dated 2026 activity:

Flossmoor Social has monthly brunch dates posted through December 2026, which gives Sterling Avenue a regular weekend draw that doesn't depend on the brewery. Dunning's Market is owned by Maureen Mader. None of these replaces a 30-year brewpub in a historic depot. Together, though, they mean a visitor walking out of the Station has more storefronts open nearby than a year ago.

The parking lot that could become a second gathering spot

The biggest change to downtown's layout may be the South Commuter Lot, just south of Flossmoor Road on Sterling Avenue. On Oct. 3 it hosted the evening half of OAKtoberfest for the third year in a row, with ReTurn2Soul and Sixteen Candles on stage, a Public Art Commission plein air silent auction, and a bags tournament run by the Flossmoor Service League.

The village and the Homewood-Flossmoor Park District are looking at turning most of that lot into a permanent community gathering space. Residents shared ideas at a meeting in June, and the park district is now applying for grant funding. If the money comes through, downtown would have a public gathering place a short walk from the Station's patio for the first time. That would also make the next owner's choices about the patio less central to the village's calendar.

The Armstrongs' sale isn't done yet, and the lot doesn't have funding yet. For now, the Pet Parade still ends at 1035 Sterling Ave. on Oct. 24.

Houses have their own Flossmoor Station problem. Owning an older Flossmoor home means preserving what makes it special while keeping it ready for whoever comes next. If you're weighing a rehab, an addition that respects the original character, or a sale down the road, Naja Morris and the MB Team can help you plan it. Schedule a consultation, or ask for access to our private listings.