Craig Corn has been in the restaurant business for years, and he soon will embark on a new adventure.
By Dec. 1, he plans to open Mac’s Cafe in the former Wendy’s on North Bell Street. It will feature a homestyle menu.
“The main reason is (because) there is a lack of homestyle restaurants in Fremont,” he said. “This restaurant will be featuring, basically, all homemade food, meaning we will feature three specials daily. Ham and pot roast will be the two we always have. Then we’ll feature another special, whether it be Swiss steak, Salisbury steak, beef and noodles.
“We’ll have two homemade soups every day,” he added. “We’re going to bring back our pie operation where we’ll have our homemade pies and rolls like we had when we were Craig’s out on the highway.”
Corn said the new restaurant will draw inspiration from two former Fremont eateries.
“We want to try to operate in the tradition of Al’s (formerly on South Bell Street) and Craig’s,” he said. “It’s a niche that’s lost that people seem to really desire.”
Mac’s Cafe is named in honor of Corn’s daughter, Marissa Ann, who is a fifth-grader at Grant Elementary School.
“She’s pretty excited about it,” he said.
Beginning Sept. 1, Corn said, extensive remodeling work on the interior and exterior will begin. Right now, the building is empty except for a few personal items of the current owners.
New heating and cooling equipment, new kitchen equipment and new seating is planned.
Corn plans to have booths along the perimeter of the restaurant with round tables in the center, providing service for up to 110 people at a time.
Nifty ‘50s, the theme diner Corn owns on East Military Avenue near Memorial Stadium, will remain open.
Once opened, Mac’s Cafe will serve from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week, Corn said. He anticipates creating 50 new jobs with about 20 of those being full time.
If will be the fifth restaurant he has been associated with. Others were Village Inn, Craig’s, Capri and Nifty ‘50s.
Corn has been thinking about the new enterprise for months.
“I’ve been talking about doing this for eight months,” he said. “It was just a matter of getting the deal together with the Wendy’s people (the Staab brothers from Lincoln).”
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