Man who touted Esquire Theater project opens restaurant in Ironton

IRONTON, Mo. -- John Buckner, a hopeful entrepreneur who touted well-publicized dreams of renovating and restoring Cape Girardeau's Esquire Theater and then embarked on a failed restaurant that closed after just three weeks, opened a restaurant in Ironton, Mo., on Friday.

Grant's Inn Restaurant and Lounge had a soft opening in the city of about 1,500 people after being bought and renovated by Buckner.

The building's exterior still showed disrepair Friday, but the tavernlike interior showed signs of renovation as people worked on last-minute preparations. Tables were set and bar shelves displayed unopened bottles of liquor.

The restaurant features an "eclectic" menu offering comfort food as well as food from around the world, and is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, according to the restaurant's Facebook page, which has a following of nearly 500 people and clearly demonstrates a sentiment of excitement about the restaurant's launch. The restaurant also will offer catering services and feature live music.

Buckner owns the building, Ironton city collector Johnny Matthews said Monday, and Buckner was granted a merchant license and liquor license for the property Dec. 10.

Grant's Inn Restaurant & Lounge is seen Friday, Jan. 17, 2014, in Ironton, Mo. (Laura Simon)

Matthews said the building at 475 S. Main St. in the small town west of Fredericktown, Mo., closed in November 2009.

The building operated as a few different restaurants over the decades, according to Dee Thomilson, assistant director of the Iron County Historical Society Museum, including Nu-Way Cafe where she was a waitress in 1962.

Rosemary Henderson had operated the building as Grant's Inn for 19 years as of 1993, according to a document archived at the museum.

Henderson is working with Buckner on the reopened restaurant, said Debbie Reynolds, administrative assistant with the Arcadia Valley Chamber of Commerce. Henderson said all media inquiries must go through Buckner.

"I'm sure everybody's really happy about it," Thomilson said of the restaurant's reopening, adding there are not many bars or an official lounge in the area.

John Buckner inside Grant's Inn Restaurant & Lounge in Ironton, Mo. (Photo courtesy of Randy Pribble, The Mountain ECHO)

About a dozen other restaurants operate in Ironton, including convenience stores, fast-food chains, a barbecue and a Mexican restaurant.

Thomilson said she hopes those running Grant's Inn realize people in the area can't afford high menu prices.

"It sounds like they're

really going to do something with it," she said.

Buckner has many plans in store for the property, as well as one across the street.

"This really is a three-phase project," Buckner was quoted as saying in an article in The Mountain ECHO newspaper. "The first is the restaurant."

The second phase will be remodeling and reopening a patio. The third phase will be opening of a Grant's Inn Grocery across the street from the restaurant, the article said, which will be a combination drive-through coffee shop, deli and gourmet grocery store with an online store as well.

"I thought it would be a great niche because there is nothing like us in town anymore," Buckner was quoted saying in the article. "This is just something I've wanted to do, and I've been afforded the opportunity to do this."

This is not Buckner's first project involving the remodeling of a historic building.

In late 2011 and early 2012, Buckner touted high-dollar plans toward the development of the art scene in Cape Girardeau, particularly in the city's downtown.

In October 2011, it was announced with fanfare and support from civic, business and city government leaders that Buckner and his company, Broadway Esquire Entertainment Group LLC, would buy the Esquire Theater, 824 Broadway, from owner Phil Brinson. Buckner spoke of a $2.7 million renovation to open an independent film house on Jan. 21, 2013, the 55th anniversary of the theater's opening.

The announcement was made during a news conference in front of the building.

The building remains in disrepair. It was later learned Buckner never bought the Esquire Theater from Brinson, nor did he secure film rights for the theater or recruit private investors, all of which he had claimed in newspaper reports.

In January 2012, the company announced plans to open a restaurant in the building that once housed Mollie's restaurant at 11 S. Spanish St. in Cape Girardeau. The restaurant, Razing Cain, was open for three weeks in March.

After the business failed, Buckner told the Southeast Missourian that opening the restaurant was a "huge" mistake.

"I don't know why I opened that damned restaurant, if you want to know the truth," Buckner said in the interview. "I don't know why I did it."

He went on to say he wasn't a business person and that he left financial messes for others to clean up.

Throughout his downtown development planning, Buckner was a business partner with New Orleans artist Karen Eustis, and he managed Eustis Studio at 1606 Independence St., which featured her artwork. Tensions rose between the two, and Eustis dissolved the business relationship and had her art returned to her. After the fallout, Buckner changed the studio's name to Broadway Gallery and Framing. The art gallery was vacant by September 2012.

All of Buckner's plans came to a halt, and he left town. According to records from the Cape Girardeau County recorder of deeds office, Broadway Esquire Entertainment Group LLC owes more than $64,000 in tax liens in the county.

"If a tax lien is filed against a company, the lien remains in effect unless the department either releases the lien for payment or the lien is expunged for some other reason," said Michelle Gleba, director of communications with the Missouri Department of Revenue, in an email. "The lien will attach to any real or personal property the company owns or purchases while the lien is in effect."

Buckner declined to speak to a Southeast Missourian reporter. Voicemails left for Buckner earlier in the week were not returned. An email seeking comment about past Cape Girardeau ventures, including taxes and debts owed, received no response.

On Friday, a person associated with the restaurant said Buckner would be busy all day and not available to comment.

ashedd@semissourian.com

388-3632

Pertinent address:

475 S. Main St., Ironton, MO