DALTON, Ga. — Members of the Dalton City Council hope a restaurant in Acworth might be a model for the future of the historic train depot here that once housed the Dalton Depot and Trackside Tavern.

Members of the council will travel to Acworth on Wednesday to have dinner at Gabriel’s and to talk to officials with Jeremiah Consulting.

Jeremiah was one of two companies, the other being Dalton-based Barrett Development Strategies, to respond to a request for proposals for the depot in August. Jeremiah has a history of renovating historic properties and converting them into “third places,” which refers to places separate from home or work such as cafes, restaurants and parks. Some of its developments include Gabriel’s, a restaurant and bakery in an 1800s mill, and The Nest Kennesaw, a barbecue and craft beer restaurant built from two historic houses in downtown Kennesaw.

“I told them ‘I am really interested in restoring that historic building. I am really interested in bringing a business in there. That’s what I do, and I’d like you to come to Acworth and meet the mayor there, and I’d like you to come to Kennesaw and see what we have done there,’” said Dales Hughes, a partner at Jeremiah. “I’ve got a passion for old buildings. I’m excited about downtown Dalton, and I’d like to make this work.”

Hughes said he typically owns the buildings he restores. He said his “gut feeling” is that it would take $600,000 to $1 million to do the repairs needed at the depot.

“What he basically told us is that it did not make financial sense for him to put the money into the building and then us lease it back to him. But he wanted to create a partnership,” said Mayor Dennis Mock. “We are going down there to open a dialogue and see if we can have a meeting of the minds.”

Council member Gary Crews says he is interested in seeing what Jeremiah has done with the old mill.

“I want to ask about what it took to restore that. I want to see what the restaurant itself is like,” he said. “Then it will be up to the council to decide if this is something we want to do here and if we want to pursue a dialogue with (Jeremiah).”

Mock said he is interested in getting feedback from Dalton residents who have been to Gabriel’s or to some of Jeremiah’s other properties.

“And if they haven’t been, I’d encourage them to go down and come back and tell us what they think. Is this something they’d like to see in Dalton?” he said.

The city, which owns the depot, closed the building in November 2015, citing conditions that “posed potential health hazards to the public,” including mold.

In June, the City Council agreed to pay restaurant owner T.J. Kaikobad $80,000 for his lost food inventory and business from the closing of the building, and to forgive more than $20,000 he owed in back rent and taxes.