Downtown Harrisonburg has a new addition in The Corner, a casual dining restaurant. It opened recently, on Monday February 20th. Pat Roberts, the owner, had a concept for a restaurant in mind when he saw the then vacant building, located at 95 South Main St. The Corner has a relaxed atmosphere and sells deli sandwiches, pizza by the slice, and appetizers. It has two levels, downstairs is bar style with loud music at night and upstairs is more relaxed with quieter music so patrons can dine and chat.

  The Corner is unique in downtown Harrisonburg because it has what Roberts thought was missing downtown: “Pizza by the slice, late night, a relaxed atmosphere.” Wanting to fill the gaps in downtown restaurants is the reason why The Corner doesn’t sell hamburgers or buffalo wings. Jack Brown’s across the street already sells those things so it would be counterproductive to be in competition. The upstairs also includes shadow boxes (shallow frames with glass in front where you can put objects and pictures) featuring local merchants like Shenandoah Bike Company , The Laughing Dog, and Duo for a “sense of window shopping” as Roberts puts it. One box in particular will showcase a Harrisonburg resident who is a hometown hero. Right now it is featuring Jeremiah Bishop, who competes in the Olympics.

This isn’t Robert’s first restaurant. He also owns Chanellos on North Main St. Starting a business is still difficult, even for experienced owners.

“There’s so much to organize and get done especially when starting from scratch because you have to hire and teach all the servers and kitchen staff,” said Roberts. “We went straight to the top on the ski lift to learn on the big hill, not the bunny hill,” said Roberts.Even though there have been a couple flops in the location, Roberts feels good about The Corner.

“I think I have a good concept, a sound foundation, and good experience,” Roberts said.