New restaurant specializing in wine, craft beers and atmosphere coming to Corbin

 A Corbin couple is hoping to add one more dimension to a burgeoning downtown scene with a small, intimate restaurant that specializes in wine, craft beers, appetizers and atmosphere.

Ron and Lisa Herd purchased a vacant building next to the Downtown Barber Shop and are in the process of renovating it into what they tentatively call “Corbin Cellars.” It’s the latest in a impressive string of locally owned, home-grown eateries and hang-outs that is turning the Main Street scene in Corbin into the place to be.

“We’ve been to places like that and Lisa just always wanted to do it,” Ron Herd said. “Everybody we’ve talked to about it said they can’t wait until we open.”

“We feel we can really complement some of the other places that are already downtown.”

Basil’s, an Italian restaurant that has operated off Beatty Ave. for the last four years, plans to re-locate to Corbin’s Main Street in the near future. Herd said he hopes to have “Corbin Cellars” open by summer.

In the past few years, The Dixie Café has re-opened, You and Me Coffee and Tea opened its doors, and the unique and evocative Season’s Restaurant also opened after years in the planning.

Couple that with the edition of some retail business and plans to improve downtown “green spaces” … it’s a formula that Corbin Mayor Willard McBurney said is creating excitement and buzz around downtown.

“For a small town, we’ve got a very viable Main Street. A lot of towns our size have lost their Main Street, but I’ve heard comments from a lot of different people that come here and really like what they see,” McBurney said. “I think it’s great that local people like Ron and Lisa have an interest in doing this and are the ones leading the effort. We welcome outsiders, but it’s really good to get local investment in your community.”

“I think downtown is looking up. We are starting to bring back the old atmosphere that used to be there at one time.”

Herd said “Corbin Cellars” would seat 100 people. It will specialize in serving craft beers, mostly on tap, and have a selection of wines along with appetizers. It will open daily around dinnertime and the couple hopes to book live music on weekends and maybe on a night during the week.

“We’ll try different things, some desserts and stuff like that,” Herd said. “I’d like to have some TVs too so people can watch the ballgames or whatever.”

Corbin Main Street Manager Andy Salmons, who also owns You and Me Coffee and Tea, said people like the Herds are part of a growing trend of businesspeople that are starting to see the value of operating in the city’s central business district.

“I think it’s kind of a larger mindset change people are having. They are finding more value in community and the centrality of downtown is very appealing,” Salmons said. “People are coming back to downtown and meeting and they want a place they are proud of and someplace to have a good time. It’s really cool to see downtown taking shape as a dining destination.”

Salmons said the Herds have “a great concept” that should fit well into downtown Corbin.

“I think what they are doing will be an asset to our community.”