Riad returns downtown with 3 Corner Bar & Grille

Restaurateur Riad Matar last week made his return downtown with the May 30 opening of 3 Corner Bar & Grille at 400 South Ave.

It’s been three years since Matar operated Riad Mediterranean restaurant in the Holland building on Park Central Square. The 26-year restaurant veteran also ran a second Riad site on the south side for five years until selling it in September and spending a month in United Arab Emirates and Kuwait with his Syrian family following the sudden death of his 44-year-old brother in his war-torn homeland.

“That completely changed where I’m going,” he said, standing in his new restaurant and noting he took a loss on the sale to the operators of Taj Mahal Indian restaurant on East Republic Road. “I haven’t been (to Syria) since 1982.”

At the 2,400-square-foot 3 Corner space at South Avenue and Walnut Street, formerly South & Walnut Bar & Grill, Matar employs 14 and has seating for 94. He said the menu emphasizes American fare such as hamburgers, hot dogs and a build-your-own macaroni and cheese, though he’s made available a quarter of his signature Greek and Lebanese dishes such as baba ghanoush, pork shanks and tabbouleh salad. Most items are in the $7-$10 range.

Matar signed a five-year lease, with another five-year option, for $3,000 per month with landlord Walnut & South LLC. The space has been vacant since December, when previous tenant the Crafts family abruptly shut down South & Walnut Bar & Grill after just three months in business. The high-profile corner also is home to Price Cutter’s Bistro Market and a newly renovated Great Southern Bank branch.

Matar said his new restaurant’s name, 3 Corner, was the idea of his wife, Janet.

“This is our third restaurant. Each location was on a corner,” he said. “Downtown has been really improving, and I want to give it a chance.”