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Former Sandpiper to be torn down The building that once housed the popular Sandpiper restaurant on Barnett Road in Medford will soon be torn down to make way for new construction in the future. [Mail Tribune / Andy Atkinson] Friday Dec 22, 2017 at 12:39 PM Dec 22, 2017 at 2:44 PM Greg Stiles Mail Tribune @GregMTBusiness It was a Medford dining hot spot in the 1970s and 1980s, and then came the decline. Long past its prime and derelict in recent years, the 7,000-square-foot former Sandpiper restaurant building at 1841 Barnett Road soon will be gone. A trace or two may remain in 2018, but Daniel Bunn, whose family has owned the property for the past 15 years, said the relic of bygone times was due to go. "We're tearing it down, because it needs torn down," said Bunn, a former member of the Medford City Council. "The building has been beyond repair for a long time. Anything that goes in there will be new construction." About 1970, the old Awol grocery store went out of business. A couple of day spas occupied the location before Glynn Allen launched the short-lived Inland Wharf Restaurant. In the late 1970s, The Sandpiper opened for a run spanning the better of 15 years, becoming the place to go on special nights out. After The Sandpiper ran its course, a series of start-ups followed, but none lasted more than a couple of years. Streams, Gumrai Thai, Mick's Ale House, Sing Thai, Saucy's Southern Grille and Molly Murphey's followed. For the past decade, the three lots comprising 1.6 acres have been dormant, providing little more than trips down memory lane for passersby. Forty years ago, restaurants were a good fit for the property that backs to Lazy Creek. Not so much now. "It's a fantastic location for something other than a restaurant," Bunn said. "It needs to be a medical building or a professional office now." Riparian setbacks won't prevent a good-sized building, he said. "We've actually had interest in the last few months," Bunn said. "So the demolition fits together well for construction." — Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 541-776-4463 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GregMTBusiness or www.facebook.com/greg.stiles.31.