Clary's plans return to southeast Springfield

The fine-dining spot relocated about a year ago to Battlefield Marketplace, 900 E. Battlefield Road, after 18 years at its signature nook in Southern Hills Shopping Center on East Sunshine Street. The restaurant replaced Fish, another Clary-owned eatery that closed in June 2007.

When a chance came up to negotiate out of his Battlefield Marketplace lease, Clary said he jumped at the opportunity to find a smaller footprint in the southeast part of town, where most of his regular patrons live. The building’s landlord, Randy Magers, could not be reached for comment by press time.

“What we’ve heard from a lot of our regular customers is that this location is too far away,” Clary said, noting that it did help pick up new south-side clientele. “But for me, it makes a lot more sense. I live over there, I grew up over there, my friends and family are over there. I’m a southeast guy.”

Clary said he has a reached an agreement with landlord Steve Johnson of Sunset Holdings & Investments to move Clary’s to the first floor of 3021 E. Sunshine St., where other tenants include Habersham Interiors. Johnson could not be reached for comment. The deal is pending city approval, because the former retail space would need to meet restaurant requirements.

The new location is 4,000 square feet – a big difference from the 7,000 square feet Clary’s filled on Battlefield Road.

“At the existing location, that place is so big that I spend half my time running around,” Clary said. “At this place, I can see almost every table from the front. I’ll have much better control of the service.”

The smaller spot is comparable to Clary’s original home that was only 3,600 square feet. Renovations to the new spot could cost anywhere from $30,000 to $100,000, Clary said. The restaurant will only be open for dinner hours.

Aug. 16 was the restaurant’s last scheduled day to be open in Battlefield Marketplace, and Clary anticipates reopening on East Sunshine by mid-October.

In the meantime, Clary will continue his catering services, and he said people who previously booked the restaurant during the down period would be notified this month of new accommodations.

Clary opened the upscale eatery about 20 years ago, and in 2006, he sold it to Dave and Lynee Fender while he shifted his focus to Fish.

The Fenders closed the restaurant nine months later and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. After a short struggle to reclaim the Clary’s name from the Fenders, Clary reopened the restaurant on Battlefield Road in July 2007.[[In-content Ad]]