The Rhineland community has been quiet since the Corner Restaurant and Bar was closed after it was burned in a fire in May.

Now, Brett Lampkin is looking to bring the longtime establishment back to life. The Rhineland resident bought the former Corner building from previous owners Kelly Wideman and Andrea Brantley on Dec. 29.

“The town is dead without it,” Lampkin said. “I’m investing in this community and I’m trying to get somebody to run it to help the community. I drive by it every single day and it’s been sitting there. It kind of makes you sick to see it that way. For no other reason, that’s why we bought it.”

Lampkin, his wife and a friend named Dale Gloe have been fixing up the place for several weeks. They plan to tear down one part of the building and use the other part to build a temporary kitchen.

“We will not run it,” Lampkin said. “We have no desire. We’re in the masonry business. We have about 50 employees, so I have plenty. We work in St. Louis. We’re probably the largest residential builder in the state for brickwork. We probably brick 600 to 800 homes a year. So we have our plate full.”

Lampkin said he just wants to see someone get an opportunity to become a business owner.

“I’m going to finance the new kitchen,” Lampkin said. “I’m going to finance the building. I’m going to have hundreds of thousands of dollars in this thing. I don’t want to finance the hamburgers, soda and the beer because I want somebody else to build their own thing. I’m going to help them along the way. After two or three years, I’m going to sell the whole thing to them, let them take off and build their own future with it.”

Fifty years ago, Lampkin’s father, Jimmy, owned the Corner. He bought it from a person who owned a bank in Rhineland.
Lampkin said the Corner has a bar that’s been around since the late 19th century. He plans to get that fixed up.

“It’s very old,” Lampkin said. “You can see where quarters have been dug on top of it from guys sitting there drinking beer. The bar tells the story. There are a lot of chips and dents and engravings with peoples’ names on the bar. I want to bring that back 100 percent the way it was. The bar has been through a lot. Now, it’s been through a fire.”

The Corner, known for its fried chicken and Sunday breakfast buffet, was burned in a fire on the morning of May 22. The restaurant has attracted plenty of residents in Montgomery and Gasconade counties as well as out-of-town residents.

“The streets used to be busy,” Lampkin said. “There were people around everywhere. Ever since it was burned, there’s nothing (out here). I grew up here my whole life, so we decided, ‘Hey, let’s see if we could get something going with it.’ That’s what we did.”

Anyone who is interested in owning the Corner Restaurant can contact Lampkin at 573-236-4655.