Last week — and approximately 12 years after owners Alison Albrecht and Nils Stark opened the first Cornucopia — the business-savvy restaurant ushered in a third location under the ever-growing Cornucopia brand. This one comes only two years after opening a location in the 5th Street Market.
Located in what was once the back area of The District on 13th Avenue and Oak Street, it’s clear that this Cornucopia is different from its sister restaurants.
“It’s huge. It’s got the biggest amount of space I’ve ever witnessed in a Cornucopia,” said Katie Courtney, Albrecht’s sister and bar manager at the 5th Street location. “We’ve got one restaurant that’s like a bugle house where it was built upon, built upon, built upon and the 5th and Pearl (restaurant) is so tiny we never have enough room for anything. This place is so huge, I still have empty shelves.”@@http://registerguard.mycapture.com/mycapture/enlarge.asp?image=28487654&event=962708&CategoryID=35035&picnum=1&move=B@@
Cornucopia’s newest location, The Maize Lounge, is located at 13th Avenue and Oak Street next door to The District in Eugene. The most popular item on the menu is the grass-fed cheeseburger. (Jamie Lay/Oregon Daily Emerald)
High-vaulted ceilings unlike any restaurant in Eugene are instantly eye-catching. Pool tables, pinball machines and multiple televisions are located all around the restaurant, including arguably Eugene’s largest screen outside of Autzen Stadium mounted behind the bar. Square mirrors climb up a back wall, painted with a dark, smooth maroon color that matches The District’s vibe.
With a late-night ambiance and a partnership with a Eugene nightclub, it would seem the Maize Lounge caters to one specific audience. But Albrecht, who has two children, said the lounge is also designed to be as family-friendly as possible.
The restaurant was built to serve two distinct crowds. It is ready to serve families during the daytime and provide late-night food options for District-goers.
“The big question before we opened was, ‘Can we have a lounge that is family-friendly?’” Albrecht said.
Maize Lounge doesn’t differ merely on an aesthetic level. Albrecht made sure the food would also be different and, more importantly, cheaper. The majority of the items range between $3 and $7.
“We think that with the recession, people don’t want to spend money, so we tried to make it the best value we could come up with,” Albrecht said.
Still operating solely with American cuisine, the menu carries more of a bar mentality. Sliders, sandwiches, burgers, all-beef and veggie hot dogs and breakfast served any hour of the day are the menu’s main staples, with an expanded French fries menu and extensive condiment bar.
“The new menu is really big,” Albrecht said. “It’s got the same great stuff from other Cornucopias, but it also has a different twist. We went out of our way to make sure it has a different flavor here.”
All of the new aspects of the Cornucopia Maize Lounge is something the staff is still feeling out, like any new restaurant. Even with the experience of operating two other restaurants, the new location and customer base is something everyone is taking in stride. With a grand opening approaching on June 3 and the end of spring term, which promises big late-night crowds, it appears that excitement is the outlook.
“We’ve been working out the kinks, and we’re ready to start rolling,” Maize Lounge bar manager Cameron Guerts said.@@http://www.linkedin.com/pub/dir/+/Guerts/+/@@
Debbie Bailey dresses her cheeseburger on Sunday afternoon at Cornucopia’s new location, The Maize Lounge, on 13th Avenue and Oak Street next door to The District in Eugene. (Jamie Lay/Oregon Daily Emerald)
