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PARKERSBURG, W.Va. (WTAP)—The Corner Cafe is a Parkersburg staple that has been feeding communities for decades. The building has undergone many changes, from a Matheny Motors showroom to a restaurant, and now, there is another major change.

The historic restaurant permanently closed on June 30 to allow Matheny Motors to use the building that they own.

“Mr. Matheny came up to me because he owns the building, and we were renting off of him, and he came up and said he got a new franchise. He would help me anyway he could to relocate or make the transition as easy as possible,” said Owner, Fred Archer.

The Archer family took over ownership of Corner Cafe in October of 2022, now almost two years later they are searching for a new building.

“It’s not easy. We knew it was our passion, and we knew that it was an iconic restaurant and it would do really well. Now it’s coming to an end,” he said.

For the Archers, the building holds a lot of value, but it doesn’t match the value that the customers who kept the building running for decades could ever compare to.

“Our customers were amazing, and we had regular customers every day, and we felt bad because they had to relocate and go other places. This was their place. This was their home since Marilyn owned it,” said Archer.

The Corner Cafe name is ending, but this change won’t stop the passion for the Archers as they continue to search for a new building.

“We’re not going to use that name anymore because this was an icon, and I don’t want to ruin that. We’re looking to transition into another building that will fit us, and we know what we want to do, how we want to do it, and how many people we want to do it with, so that’s where we’re at right now,” he said.