Fremont council approves five-year lease for Centerville Train Depot, awarding operation to Akrami after hours-long public comment

The Fremont City Council on June 16 voted to authorize a five-year lease for the Centerville Train Depot to the proposal from Abila Akrami, with options to renew for two additional five-year terms, after staff recommended Mr. Akrami’s proposal and after an extended public comment period.

The decision followed a staff presentation on the RFP process and an hour-plus public comment period in which longtime patrons, neighborhood residents and representatives of the incumbent operator urged the council to keep the existing East Bay Depot Cafe operators. Public works staff told the council the RFP (released Jan. 22, 2026; deadline March 31, 2026) received three submissions — East Bay Cafe (current operator Wendell Belillo), Mr. Akrami (proposal for the entire building) and Mr. Lorenz (office-only) — and the internal selection panel unanimously ranked Mr. Akrami highest based on operating hours, revenue history and a commitment of capital improvements.

“Based on the formal evaluation of the information submitted by the proposers … staff’s evaluation is that the proposal from Mr. Akrami was superior in meeting the needs of our community,” Public Works Director Matt Kano said during the presentation.

Council members pressed staff on several points before the vote: why formal interviews were not held; how the city would avoid a 4–6 week interruption in ACE ticket sales if the lessee changed; and how the lease would enforce operating-hour requirements and other performance expectations. Assistant City Engineer Noe Veloso said interviews are generally used only when the selection panel is not unanimous; staff also said ACE ticketing has an app/online backup and that staff would coordinate messaging with ACE to reduce passenger disruption.

Public commenters offered sharply divergent views. Longtime patrons described the incumbent operator, Wendell Belillo, as a community anchor; Belillo told the council she was “crushed” at the prospect of losing the business after more than a decade of operating the cafe. Several speakers described the cafe’s unique menu and role for commuters and families. By contrast, other speakers alleged past lease violations, including that people had resided in the ticket office in exchange for staffing shifts and that some employees were not paid in cash; staff confirmed they had met with an individual who said she received lodging rather than wages and said a police report exists related to an incident at the depot. Legal representatives and supporters of the incumbent asked the council for an interview opportunity and an assurance the RFP process had been fair.

Mr. Akrami, who previously operated the cafe for several months in 2025, defended his proposal and described planned investments: “We plan to convert the office space into a fully functional commercial kitchen… and install security cameras throughout the facility,” he said, adding his team would provide the city access to the system for oversight.

Council members who supported the staff recommendation said the council must act on the administrative record — the proposals, attachments and supplemental materials in the packet — and that the selection panel’s unanimous ranking supported staff’s recommendation. Council member Liu moved to approve the lease; the motion was seconded by Council member Campbell and passed with six yes votes and one no (Mayor Raj Sawang). The council recorded the outcome as approval of the staff-recommended lease to Mr. Akrami.

Council members also discussed and directed staff to include clearer auditing and enforcement language in the lease, including defined performance expectations, warning steps for deficiencies and termination rights for default. Public works staff told council that the plaza improvements funded by a $1,500,000 grant are expected to proceed through 2027 and that operators would be given a ramp-up period while plaza construction continues.

What happens next: staff will return with a draft lease reflecting the council’s direction on enforcement provisions and tenant investment commitments, and council will consider the final lease for execution. The council’s public record for the decision includes the RFP, submitted proposals, supplemental attachments A and B and public-comment materials.