Incoming staff have been busy putting up decor, renovating the kitchen space and preparing for opening day

Portland-based Italian restaurant chain The Old Spaghetti Factory will open at its new downtown Medford location on Monday, April 28. 

The restaurant chain purchased the historic train station building, located at 147 N. Front St., last fall for $2.3 million. The building was most recently occupied by Porters-Dining at the Depot, a downtown institution for more than two decades. 

With the opening day around the corner, The Old Spaghetti Factory staff have been busy putting up decor, renovating the kitchen space and preparing for opening day.

“It’s coming up quickly,” said Kim Davidson, director of marketing for the company. 

“We’re really excited to be coming to the Medford community. … We’ve been around since 1969, and we have always been family owned and operated.

“We always try to be really active in the community, with community service and fundraisers that we do for the community and a very family-friendly restaurant as well as affordable dining and a special place to come for special occasions,” Davidson added. 

The chain was founded by Portland restaurateurs Guss and Sally Dussin and is still owned and operated by the family. 

Known for its decor of Tiffany lamps, chandeliers, wooden chairs, antiques and more, The Old Spaghetti Factory carries much of the same charm to each of its more than 40 properties around the U.S.

“They didn’t want to be a typical Italian restaurant with the checkered placemats; they wanted something original,” Davidson said.

For the Medford restaurant, “my understanding is they’re not changing the dining room layout itself very much, besides bringing in our own decor.” The Medford property and The Old Spaghetti Factory share a loosely related history of sorts, with the flagship Old Spaghetti location in Portland housed in an old trolley car repurposed as a decor element.

In Medford, the Front Street property, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, served as a busy train depot for the Medford Southern Pacific Railroad.

Initially constructed in the early 1900s, the station was abandoned in 1955 until four decades later, it was restored and designated as a national historic landmark in 1996.

Before The Old Spaghetti Factory purchased the property, the building housed Porters-Dining At The Depot.

The local steakhouse was open for 23 years before the business owners announced closure of the restaurant in May 2023.

The new eatery includes a seating capacity of 226 inside seats and 116 outdoor seats, and will be able to host a total of 342 guests, Davidson said. 

The Old Spaghetti Factory’s menu includes a wide range of Italian-American cuisine including pasta, salads, lasagna, ravioli, meatballs, milkshakes and, of course, spaghetti.

To learn more about The Old Spaghetti Factory, visit osf.com. 

Reach reporter James Sloan at jsloan@rv-times.com.