ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – Renovations are underway for the Matera Bar & Grill in the SODA District, and owners Lindsay Flores, Gabriel Flores and Jean Proctor are preparing for the opening of the business.

On March 25, Matera Bar & Grill will host a vendor market with a surprise food vendor and live music, along with a couple of soft openings in April.

Lindsay Flores said the grand opening will be during the first week of May and called ‘Cinco de Drinko.’

“So we’re going to have Happy Hour, all week long, and we’re going to have music Thursday through Saturday, It’s just going to be a great thing,” Flores explained.

She added that there will be full dining, both upstairs and downstairs, as well as many events, such as vendor markets and live music.

“It is very exciting, we are very blessed to be where we are right now,” Flores expressed.

The restaurant will serve traditional food, such as ribeye, sirloin, steak fingers, chicken tenders, beercan chicken, seafood and more.

Flores said she hopes businesses in Abilene create more synergy, which she said is “one small business having the back of another small business, and that’s what we really need.” She announced that Matera Bar & Grill will have synergy with Kao Lounge, and hopes this will set an example for others to follow.

“We will have Kao cater certain events downstairs, stuff like that. We will be offering free delivery to Kao… and on Fridays and Saturdays, we will have a to-go late-night menu,” Flores shared. “It’s pretty neat. It’s going to be something different that not just downtown Abilene needs, but all of Abilene needs.”

Flores said that throughout this process, Amanda and Terry O’Connor at Cypress Street Station have been a great influence on how to run a successful business.

“They’re in there day and night, making sure their customers are taken care of, their staff is taken care of. So we, kinda like, looked at them and said ‘Ok, if we want to be successful we have to look at what they’re doing,'” Flores explained.

Matera Bar & Grill will be opening in the building where Sockdolager Brewing Company previously was and Flores added that they are grateful for what the brewery owners have done for the community and for Matera.

“We don’t want to look at them as a failure, we look at it as it was part of their journey,” Flores explained. “If it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t have this either. If it wasn’t for their vision, we wouldn’t have Matera, so we’re very grateful for Sockldanger as well.”

Check out the Support Small Businesses of Abilene Facebook page for updates on Matera Bar & Grill.