While the building looks the same as it has for years, a slight change has occurred on the corner of North Third Avenue and East E Street in Oakdale. Now home to Reata on 3rd, the newly opened restaurant officially began the transition in January of this year.

“We wanted to take what’s here, after downtown did what they did,” co-owner Ann Maddox shared. “Building on what Chef (John Fisher) already did in Oakdale and work from there. We’ve got a great location, now it’s open and we wanted to make sure it’s part of the Oakdale community.”

Ann, along with her husband and family business partner John, originally bought the building in 2004, first launching the Reata as an event center and staying focused in other areas of the restaurant business where they had long term success.

In 2021, looking to bring additional fine dining options to Oakdale, the couple partnered with Redwood Café. At the start of 2024 ready to take on the business themselves, they bought out their partner.

“We really have this great space and we want to utilize it, with the live music, with the Morning Market,” Maddox continued. “We’re trying to be involved and have a place where people want to come, hang out and have more to do.”

“We like to say we went back to our roots,” daughter Ali Trinkler added. “We owned the Reata beforehand. We had Redwood come in to kind of start the restaurant, now we’re back to Reata, but on Third, because everyone wants this street to be where it’s happening.”

With the staff remaining the same, the location taking on a few tweaks and the menu being revisited by long-term Chef Fisher, the Maddox family is confident they have found just the right recipe to bring something original to North Third Avenue.

“We’re adding some different things that Oakdale doesn’t have at the moment,” Fisher shared. “Us being a little different than everybody else, it’s bringing more people into the town.”

While given free license from the family, Fisher said it’s equally helpful that they too enjoy food and, like him, are self-proclaimed foodies.

“The whole thing has been a good team effort. We’ve really worked as a team to do this,” Maddox said, noting that as a family, requests or suggestions were made to the chef when building the new menu.

Reata on 3rd is open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Happy Hour is offered each of those days from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Tuesday through Thursday the last dinner reservation is taken for 8:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays for 9:30 p.m.

For the early riser looking for something different, they have that covered as well. The Reata on 3rd is also open each Saturday morning for the Oakdale Morning Market from 8 a.m. to noon, offering a Market Menu of breakfast items and morning beverages.

“I’m trying to promote Oakdale as much as possible and as much local things as I can,” Fisher shared, noting his plans also include supporting local farmers with Morning Market breakfast items.

“We wouldn’t be able to do any of this without Chef,” Maddox shared. “We brought it (the Morning Market menu) on because we knew he would be here. We want him up front and center talking to everyone. He comes up with ideas and we facilitate how to do ‘em.”

With 30 years of experience behind him, Fisher said working for the Maddox family is more like a partnership than an employee relationship. Recognizing his place within the organization, yet acknowledging the freedoms and support the family continues to give.

“The overall menu is a little bit of everything. It kind of hits a little bit of everybody’s palate,” the Chef shared, adding there has been an increase in appetizer sales. “Here we are able to do a lot more higher end, Chef driven, a little bit more exotic, a little bit more of things that Oakdale doesn’t have. A lot of the things that we’ve put on here have really taken off.”

Adding to the things that “Oakdale doesn’t have,” Reata on 3rd also offers live music on the patio each Thursday and beginning in June, Tuesday night date night specials will be offered as well as ‘Dinner with the Chef’ events.

“Food is my love language,” Fisher said. “So making people happy with food and being able to see their enjoyment or their excitement. Getting people to try new things.”

As the dining area grows with additional events and offerings for dinner, the event center continues to be a driving force for the Reata as a whole.

“We’re doing more events than we have in the past,” Maddox said.

“I love the big events and the small events, but we can do both and we have a space to do both,” General Manager and Event Coordinator Heather Patterson shared. “People can book their party on the patio, but if something happens on the patio we can move inside. We have a lot of options in this space.”

The event center was the foundation for the family business and helped the team decide on the name for their fine dining establishment. Noting that Reata was well known as an event facility, they felt tying the two together made sense, but there’s a twist.

“Even in our name it says ‘eat on 3rd,’ it’s in the middle of our name,” the Chef shared, acknowledging the intentionality in the new logo and graphics. “It’s just one of those things. We’re not just focusing on us. We want you to come down to the street, because we know eventually, you’re going to come in.”

And when that day happens, the team at Reata on 3rd wants the community to not just feel welcome, but comfortable enough to bring the kids and even the dog.

“We want you to feel you’re a part of what we’re doing here and be a part of the community,” Fisher summarized.

For more information, along with upcoming events and menu listings, visit www.reataon3rd.com or visit their Instagram reataon3rd.