About
three – a class act of a restaurant, bar, and lounge, located on “The Corner” in the heart of Charlottesville, Virginia.
three offers an extensive from-scratch menu of classic American favorites, and a long, inviting bar – complete with 12 rotating taps sure to delight any beer snob (we mean “enthusiast”). Our space, oversized for the historic Corner district, has a great many perks… We’re equipped with multiple big-screen TVs for your sports-viewing pleasure, an outdoor patio for highest-quality people-watching, a separate cocktail lounge just beside the bar (known to incite spontaneous mixing and/or mingling) – as well as a top-notch DJ booth and a dance floor for those unmatched C-ville Saturday nights.
Open for lunch, dinner, and late-night seven days a week, we’re loved for addictive menu offerings like tater tots, delicious salads, classic sliders, and the regionally famed No. 3 burger. Our spacious dining room can accommodate large parties any day or night of the week. On Sunday mornings, we’ve got your weekend remedy: brunch is served from 11am – 2pm. And of course, be sure to swing by on Tuesdays after 5pm, when a ton of menu items are just $5… but get here early, friend, Five-Dollar-Tuesday fills up fast.
Despite opposition from students and faculty due to concerns about sprawl near UVA, construction of the 1517 University Avenue address proceeded in 1920. The original building included apartments upstairs and two storefronts below. Boarding house owner Eliza Page (who was operating the Biltmore building at the time) opened Mrs. Page’s Open Door Tea Room in the left-hand storefront, and the Stevens-Shepherd Clothing store was the tenant on the right. In 1943 the wall was removed between the two shops and The University Cafeteria was born. For more than forty years the “Uni-Caf” attracted throngs of students, faculty members, hospital workers, and townspeople with its delicious food, especially the Southern fried chicken and spoon bread. Long lines stretching out the door and up the sidewalk became common, especially on Sundays. The Uni-Caf closed its doors in 1983.
three was founded in 2007 to bring better food and better beer to the Corner while still offering a lively, casual atmosphere.
The Owner
Anderson McClure graduated in 2001 from UVA’s McIntire School of Commerce with a Bachelor’s of Science in Finance. While in school, he worked at the venerable Biltmore Grill and a tiny sliver of a place called The Virginian Restaurant. This job at the Virginian turned out to be the first step for a growing restaurant company in Charlottesville. Anderson purchased the struggling Virginian in 2001. Revitalizing the Virginian brand led to the creation of West Main in 2004, No. 3 in 2006, the purchase of The Biltmore Grill in 2009, and the creation of Citizen Burger Bar in 2012. The company focuses on offering simple American food in fun and inviting atmospheres, with service being paramount to success. Anderson is currently looking for restaurant spaces in the DC metropolitan area.