ODELL - Sometimes, change can be a little scary, but often times, a little change is all something needs — such was the case for The Corner Bar and Grill in Odell.

What was once just a typical bar, operating as just a place to get a beer, has now blossomed into a welcoming, family friendly environment for the community to make memories. Nate Leach is the manager of Corner Bar.

“The owners who are all local to the Odell area purchased it back in January,” Leach said. “Basically needed someone to get it open, started with a clean slate/canvas. The idea was to create something welcoming to people of all ages, all genres, nothing intimidating to anybody or didn’t make you feel like you were going to come into somewhere that wasn’t safe or what not.”

Through a hefty use of social media and word-of-mouth, once the bar was ready, it became a destination place for those around southeast Nebraska, as now a welcoming atmosphere that even serves food. Leach says, from painting and cleaning, to hanging fresh decor on the walls, the work he put in was extensive, but worth it.

“It took me a lot of months and a lot of screws,” Leach said. “Pretty much everything in the bar I hand-picked and put up. It was a collaboration or gettin the bar together for the kitchen and the structure, but the painting and putting the stuff up, I did that, but it’s kind of my stitch.”

Now, Leach is working on a new outdoor space including a beer garden and seating area. The transformation has rubbed off positively on the locals.

“I love the atmosphere,” Pamela Hedges, of Beatrice, said. “I love everything about it, I love everything Nate’s done with the business, it’s just a fun, cute little place to come to.”

A staple of Corner Bar is made up of colorful license plates, using four little words, to make one sentence: the “Let’s Go Corner Bar” sign.

“The ‘Let’s Go Corner Bar’ sign was gifted to us by my friend Manalle, the day we opened was the Odell Craft Fair, she had this made for us,” Leach said. “I was going to hang it on the wall, because I love to hang things on the wall, but I thought why not use this as a catalyst to post on Facebook and hashtag Let’s Go Corner Bar?"

And that’s precisely what they did. Now, Leach says, people from all over come in to take their picture with the famous sign.

Leach says what makes Corner Bar important to the southeast Nebraska community is its sense of welcomeness for those in the area.

“It’s an anchor for the community and surrounding communities to go, if they don’t want to travel to Beatrice, Lincoln, etc,”