Opening this Monday, July 13, the third location of the Corner Pub & Grill, at 2921 State Highway K in O’Fallon, Missouri, offers an outdoor oasis. Spanning more than 8,000 square feet, the new restaurant boasts a full-service alfresco bar with a slushie machine, ceiling fans, and multiple TVs.
Among the outdoor draws: Baldango Ball, a brand-new game that owner Brant Baldanza and his partners at OG Hospitality Group created after realizing the space wasn’t quite large enough for a bocce court. “I said, ‘What if we just kept the idea of the turf and used bocce balls but created a scoring system like you would see in shuffleboard?’” Baldanza recalls. “It’s really addicting, and it’s a ton of fun.”
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The menu also offers other alternatives for patrons, including gluten-free dishes, a longtime staple at the Corner Pub’s other locations. Baldanza wanted to incorporate the dishes into the restaurant’s initial menu after his daughter Hanna was diagnosed with celiac disease several years before the first location opened, in 2007. “When we would go out to restaurants, she couldn’t have fries or buns—basically, it was just salad,” he recalls. “So I did something fun for her, and my business partner, who has been my best friend since third grade, was all about it as well.”
Today, all three Corner Pub & Grill locations boast extensive gluten-free menus, complete with onion rings, pizzas, and more. Soon, the menus will see a new addition as well: gluten-free funnel cake. The group has mastered the art of going gluten-free. “We’ve gotten so good at it that you can’t really even tell the difference between the flour we’re using that’s normal and the flour that’s gluten-free,” Baldanza says.
Loyal Corner Pub & Grill customers will also recognize other longtime favorites, such as Corner’s signature Moozzarel, thin-sliced chicken with a bruschetta mix adorning the top. Look for menu changes, including new items, at the O’Fallon location as well.
The restaurant’s owners plan to offer the same community-centered feel as the restaurant’s other locations. “It’s always nice to go into some place where people know your name and you’re recognized and treated like family,” Baldanza says. “That’s what we’ve always done from Day 1, in 2007, and we’ll continue to do that out here.”
