The Fredericksburg, Virginia, City Council is considering a 10-year incentives deal worth $90,000 to lure the four-star German eatery Bavarian Chef to downtown.

The restaurant also could receive an additional $20,000 in grant money from the Economic Development Authority's JumpStart program to go toward signs and other improvements to the outside of the train station.

Jerome Thalwitz, whose parents first opened the Bavarian Chef in 1974, on U.S. 29 in Madison, said he thinks the train station and what he calls downtown's "European feel" made Fredericksburg an attractive place to open a second restaurant.

The train station is owned by Tommy Mitchell, and has been vacant since Claiborne's closed abruptly in September. Mitchell said he's been a customer of the Bavarian Chef for 30 years.

In January, he presented Thalwitz with the idea of moving into the train station. "His eyes kind of lit up and I invited him to Fredericksburg. He liked what he saw when he got here," Mitchell said.

Thalwitz has a target opening date of April 27. He said he won't be doing too much to the interior of the train station, but he does hope to add outdoor dining and a clock tower that would play German tunes to the front.