Showing posts with label Great Jones Cafe. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Great Jones Cafe. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 6, 2024

Jolene set to close soon on Great Jones


ICYMI: Jolene, the bistro-cafe at 54 Great Jones St. between the Bowery and Lafayette, will close soon.

Gabriel Stulman, founder of the West Village-based restaurant group Happy Cooking Hospitality, made the announcement last week. 

Per the media alert that we received:
I'm writing to break the news that Jolene will be closing soon. We have had to write a letter like this before, and it never gets easier — but the experience has only strengthened my belief that we learn as much from our experiences that don't succeed as the ones that do. 

We didn't go looking for the restaurant that is Jolene, it found us. My kids went to school with the grandchild of the building owner. Over drop-off one day, a connection was made that unlocked the doors. We loved the tiny space and the block with its proud fire station... 

... we're leaving with our heads held high and we hope that all the good mojo will make the next keyholders of 54 Great Jones a storied success. 
Stulman started here with The Jones, an all-day cafe that opened in August 2019... changing concepts to Jolene, named after the Dolly Parton song, in May 2021.

The closing had been rumored since an application landed on the Community Board 2 website (PDF here) last month for a new concept via Eric Kruvant and Darin Rubell, who operate Mister Paradise on First Avenue between Sixth Street and Seventh Street.

Before The Jones, No. 54 was home to the Great Jones Cafe, which never reopened after Jim Moffett, the longtime owner, died in July 2018 at age 59. The Cafe, a popular yet low-key spot, first arrived in 1983.

Thursday, May 20, 2021

Openings: Soda Club on Avenue B; Jolene on Great Jones Street

Soda Club, the latest vegan concept from Ravi DeRossi's Overthrow Hospitality, is now open at 155 Avenue B between Ninth Street and 10th Street. (First reported here.) 

The restaurant is serving plant-based Italian cuisine and a large selection of natural and organic wines. You can check out the menu here

Soda Club is open Wednesday through Sunday from 5 p.m. to midnight. For now, they're only taking walk-ins. 

The previous tenant at No. 155, Donostia, the wine-and-tapas bar, closed in November 2018 after five years in business.

This is the third new East Village from DeRossi this year... joining Cadence on Seventh Street and Etérea on Fifth Street.

Photo by @ericmedsker via @sodaclubnyc
At 54 Great Jones St., restaurateur Gabriel Stulman has changed up concepts for The Jones, his all-day cafe that opened in August 2019 just west of the Bowery.

Starting today, the space is Jolene, which takes its name from Dolly Parton's song.

Here's more:
Inspired by the utterly charming Cafe de Flore in Paris...  Stulman has transformed The Jones into a new classic American bistro, cafe, and bar with partner and executive chef James McDuffee ... That means an extensive wine list, clutch cappuccinos, snackable bites like a "Della" tea sandwich, and satisfying mains like chopped steak frites.
Will update with the hours later. No website at the moment, but there's always Instagram.

Before The Jones, No. 54 was home to the Great Jones Cafe, which never reopened after Jim Moffett, the longtime owner, died in July 2018 at age 59. The Cafe, a popular yet low-key spot, first arrived in 1983.

Meanwhile, the bust of Elvis remains from the days of the Great Jones Cafe...    

Monday, August 19, 2019

Elvis returns to Great Jones as The Jones readies for an opening



Here's a look at how The Jones is shaping up at 54 Great Jones St. between the Bowery and Lafayette at the former Great Jones Cafe space...



The familiar Jones lettering is above the door ... along with the original neon EAT sign in the window... even the bust of Elvis is back, though in a different window ...



As previously reported, restaurateur Gabriel Stulman is behind The Jones, described as "an all-day bustling cafe and neighborhood joint with a focus on light, fresh and bright menu." (This Instagram post from Stulman explains the how he came up with the name.)

No word on the menu just yet. The opening is expected soon.

The restaurant's Instagram account recently introduced two characters to apparently help tell the story of The Jones...



Dynamic duo. Meet Jones and his pup Baxter: charming, witty and wildly entertaining, this best friend pair is the life of any party.

Baxter is a debonair, well-traveled “Renaissance mutt,” and Jones, a fisherman, is his trusty sidekick.

Follow along to see what adventures these two get into at The Jones and beyond. #jonesing

Stulman, under his Happy Cooking Hospitality, operates a handful of West Village establishments, including Joseph Leonard, Jeffrey's Grocery, Fedora, Fairfax and Bar Sardine. He's been part of the fauxstalgia wave.

Great Jones Cafe never reopened after Jim Moffett, the longtime owner, died in July 2018 at age 59. The Cafe, a popular yet low-key spot, first arrived in 1983.

Updated 8/21

The Jones is now open.

Grub Street has a preview.

It’s more similar in size and scope to his West Village establishments. Like Joseph Leonard, it opens early (at 7:30 a.m.), and once dinner service starts next month, it will close a little after midnight. Like Jeffrey’s Grocery, there’s a raw bar. And like Fairfax, it has a café vibe with small meals — a cheffed-up Filet-O-Fish, shaved-summer-squash salads, tinned sardines served with a hunk of baguette, egg sandwiches, artful pastries, fresh-baked bread, third-wave coffee — and a handful of main dishes.

And...

Stulman also acknowledges that the Jones is, in a way, like his restaurant Fedora, a decades-old neighborhood haunt transformed by him into a sleek destination for the upwardly mobile, much to the consternation of critics like Vanishing New York’s Jeremiah Moss. Stulman’s rebuttal is that “New York is always changing, and each generation should do their own thing.”

Previously on EV Grieve:
Keeping up with the Joneses: Gabriel Stulman confirms plans for former Great Jones Cafe

Elvis has left Great Jones; 'seafood focused neighborhood restaurant' coming soon

[Updated] The future of the former Great Jones Cafe

Monday, August 5, 2019

A new door for The Jones



A progress report of sorts to note at the former Great Jones Cafe space, where restaurateur Gabriel Stulman is opening The Jones.

Well, the under-renovation space has a new door. (H/T Steven for the photos!) The old door to the Great Jones Cafe was shown the curb back on Friday...



The Jones — on Great Jones between the Bowery and Lafayette — is expected to open this fall. The Stulman team describes the new venture this way: "An all-day bustling cafe and neighborhood joint with a focus on light, fresh and bright menu."



Stulman, under his Happy Cooking Hospitality, operates a handful of West Village establishments, including Joseph Leonard, Jeffrey's Grocery, Fedora, Fairfax and Bar Sardine.

Great Jones Cafe never reopened after Jim Moffett, the longtime owner, died in July 2018 at age 59. The Cafe, a popular yet low-key spot, first arrived in 1983.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Keeping up with the Joneses: Gabriel Stulman confirms plans for former Great Jones Cafe

Elvis has left Great Jones; 'seafood focused neighborhood restaurant' coming soon

[Updated] The future of the former Great Jones Cafe

Monday, June 10, 2019

Gabriel Stulman seeking sidewalk cafe license for Great Jones Cafe replacement The Jones



As you may know, restaurateur Gabriel Stulman is opening a new venture called The Jones in the former Great Jones Cafe space.

And tonight, Team Stulman will appear before Community Board 2 in a bid for a three-table/six-seat sidewalk cafe for The Jones on Great Jones Street west of the Bowery...



This item is just one that CB2 will hear at NYU's Silver Hall, 32 Waverly Place, room 405, per the public notices on the Bowery and Great Jones.

Meanwhile, the planning continues for The Jones...


The Jones also has a teaser site that mentions a fall 2019 opening date.

Stulman, under his Happy Cooking Hospitality, operates a handful of West Village establishments, including Joseph Leonard, Jeffrey's Grocery, Fedora, Fairfax and Bar Sardine.

Great Jones Cafe never reopened after Jim Moffett, the longtime owner, died last July at age 59. The Cafe, a popular yet low-key spot, first arrived in 1983.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Keeping up with the Joneses: Gabriel Stulman confirms plans for former Great Jones Cafe

Elvis has left Great Jones; 'seafood focused neighborhood restaurant' coming soon

[Updated] The future of the former Great Jones Cafe

CB2 SLA committee OKs license for new ownership of Great Jones Cafe

Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Keeping up with the Joneses: Gabriel Stulman confirms plans for former Great Jones Cafe


[Photo from April 27]

As we've been reporting, restaurateur Gabriel Stulman is aiming to take over the former Great Jones Cafe on Great Jones Street west of the Bowery.

His reps appeared before Community Board 2 in March, earning an approval for a "seafood focused neighborhood restaurant" with a raw bar, according the official minutes of the CB2 full board meeting.

Per the minutes, the premises will have eight tables with 24 seats and one bar with nine seats for total interior seating of 33, with a 75-square-foot sidewalk café with three tables and six seats. Additionally, the approved hours of operation are 4 p.m. to midnight Sunday through Wednesday; until 1 a.m. Thursday through Sunday.

In an Instagram post on Monday morning, Stulman officially announced that the new venture will go by The Jones...


Stulman, under his Happy Cooking Hospitality, operates a handful of West Village establishments, including Joseph Leonard, Jeffrey's Grocery, Fedora, Fairfax and Bar Sardine. He's been part of the fauxstalgia wave.

No word on an opening date just yet.

Great Jones Cafe never reopened after Jim Moffett, the longtime owner, died last July at age 59. The Cafe, a popular yet low-key spot, first arrived in 1983.

Previously on EV Grieve:
Elvis has left Great Jones; 'seafood focused neighborhood restaurant' coming soon

RIP Jim Moffett, owner of the Great Jones Cafe

New owners vying for the Great Jones Cafe space

[Updated] The future of the former Great Jones Cafe

CB2 SLA committee OKs license for new ownership of Great Jones Cafe

Monday, April 29, 2019

Elvis has left Great Jones; 'seafood focused neighborhood restaurant' coming soon



It appears that some renovation work is underway at the former Great Jones Cafe ... at the least, someone has removed the Great Jones signage, papered over the windows and taken away the bust of Elvis that peered out from the behind the window for years...





There aren't any work permits on file yet with the DOB, so this may all be just some more cosmetic moves.

Last we heard, restaurateur Gabriel Stulman was eyeing the space here just west of the Bowery. He was to appear before Community Board 2's SLA committee last month.

According the official minutes of the CB2 full board meeting on March 21, Stulman reps were pitching a "seafood focused neighborhood restaurant" with a raw bar (under the name Marlinspike Hall, LLC d/b/a TBD).

Per the minutes, the premises will have eight tables with 24 seats and one bar with nine seats for total interior seating of 33, with a 75-square-foot sidewalk café with three tables and six seats. Additionally, the approved hours of operation are 4 p.m. to midnight Sunday through Wednesday; until 1 a.m. Thursday through Sunday.

The full CB2 unanimously approved the application.

Stulman, under his Happy Cooking Hospitality, operates a handful of West Village establishments, including Joseph Leonard, Jeffrey's Grocery, Fedora, Fairfax and Bar Sardine. He's been part of the fauxstalgia wave.

Great Jones Cafe never reopened after Jim Moffett, the longtime owner, died last July at age 59. The Cafe, a popular yet low-key spot, first arrived in 1983.

Previously on EV Grieve:
RIP Jim Moffett, owner of the Great Jones Cafe

New owners vying for the Great Jones Cafe space

[Updated] The future of the former Great Jones Cafe

CB2 SLA committee OKs license for new ownership of Great Jones Cafe

Monday, March 4, 2019

Gabriel Stulman vying for former Great Jones Cafe space



Restaurateur Gabriel Stulman is now eyeing the currently empty Great Jones Cafe space for an undisclosed new venture.

An EVG tipster pointed out this item on the Community Board 2's March 13 meeting agenda:

Apps. to the SLA for New License for Full Liquor On-Premise (OP): Corp. to be formed by Gabriel Stulman, d/b/a TBD, 54 Great Jones St. 10012 (OP – Restaurant with sidewalk cafe)

Last fall, a group of applicants — Anthony C. Marano (who owns the building at 54 Great Jones St.), Scott Marano, Jonathan Kavourakis and Avi Burn — were OK'd for a new liquor license on their second try for the restaurant between the Bowery and Lafayette.

During the September 2018 CB2 meeting, Kavourakis, a former chef at The Stanton Social and Vandal, described the menu for the new venture as "modern American." Burn, an owner of Pinks on 10th Street and Pinks Cantina in the Bowery Market, expounded on that later last fall in an email: "The idea was really to keep as much of the spirit of place as possible. We will clean up, make some cosmetic changes, re-do the food and drink menu while keeping some classics and aim to offer a great update to a classic neighborhood restaurant."

No word yet what Stulman has planned for the space. (He's been part of the fauxstalgia wave.)

Stulman, under his Happy Cooking Hospitality, operates a handful of West Village establishments, including Joseph Leonard, Jeffrey's Grocery, Fedora, Fairfax and Bar Sardine.

It will be interesting to see how this one plays out. The liquor-license approval last fall wasn't without debate, mostly over hours of operation and the current kitchen's venting system. (This past September, both the applicants and CB2 agreed to a layover on the application for exploration of the above topics.) The previous applicants had agreed to move the kitchen vent from the front facade. Nearby residents had complained about the noise and smell from the vent in recent years.

Great Jones Cafe never reopened after Jim Moffett, the longtime owner, died last July at age 59. The Cafe first arrived in 1983.

Previously on EV Grieve:
RIP Jim Moffett, owner of the Great Jones Cafe

New owners vying for the Great Jones Cafe space

[Updated] The future of the former Great Jones Cafe

CB2 SLA committee OKs license for new ownership of Great Jones Cafe

Friday, October 5, 2018

Petition asks new owners of the Great Jones Cafe to keep the wings on the menu



Someone has created a petition asking the new owners of the Great Jones Cafe at 54 Great Jones St. to keep the wings on the restaurant's menu.

Per the petition:

We believe that the famous Great Jones Cafe wings should be put on the menu of the restaurant taking its place. NYers join our crusade!

As for the new Great Jones Cafe, the owners will be updating the menu, featuring a lot less Cajun-influenced fare as the original, which opened in 1983. However, one of the owners, Avi Burn, said the other day that they "will pay homage to the old menu with some GJ classics and some inspiration from the old menu." Perhaps that might mean wings.

In 2012, Complex bestowed the Best Wings in NYC crown upon the Great Jones Cafe, writing:

Doused in a homemade hot sauce that hits all the right sweet and savory notes, the wings have the crispy skin chicken wing lovers would die for. But that sauce—the sauce is so good that, after you've finished the wings, you'll drag all the thin slices of carrot and other veggies that garnish the platter through the dregs just to keep the flavor in your mouth.

And the wings looked like this, not like in the petition photo...

Thursday, October 4, 2018

CB2 SLA committee OKs license for new ownership of Great Jones Cafe



Community Board 2's SLA committee signed off on the corporate change Tuesday night for new ownership to take over the Great Jones Cafe.

The liquor-license approval wasn't without some debate, mostly over hours of operation and the current kitchen venting system. (In September, both the applicants and CB2 agreed to a layover on the application for exploration of the above topics.)

Avi Burn, one of the applicants along with Anthony C. Marano (who owns the building at 54 Great Jones St.), Scott Marano and Jonathan Kavourakis, told me yesterday that, in the end, it was an "even deal."

Aside from amending the hours of the previous Great Jones Cafe (from 4 a.m. to 2 a.m. Sunday through Wednesday), the new owners will move the kitchen vent from the front facade, which Burn said "has been a huge nuisance to the neighborhood." Nearby residents had complained about the noise and smell from the vent in recent years.

"We will spend what will probably be close to $80,000 on the vent, which was not illegal in this case, because we would like to have a restaurant with neighborhood support behind it," said Burn, an owner of Pinks on 10th Street and Pinks Cantina in the Bowery Market. "We genuinely have the best interest of the community in mind but we are also mindful of a business model that will allow us to succeed."

As for the restaurant, the owners — who become the primary investors in J.F. Jones Inc. d/b/a Great Jones — are retaining the Great Jones Cafe name. Burn said that their emphasis will no longer just be on Cajun cuisine — the longtime staple at the Great Jones. During the September CB2 meeting, Kavourakis, a former chef at The Stanton Social and Vandal, described the menu for the new venture as "modern American."

Here are a few more thoughts from Burn...

On the food:

"Chef Jonathan is aiming to create a menu that people can eat several times per week. We felt Cajun food — while amazing and hearty — is a once-in-a-while treat for many people. Nevertheless we will pay homage to the old menu with some GJ classics and some inspiration from the old menu."

On the legacy of the Great Jones Cafe, which opened just west of the Bowery in 1983:

"The idea was really to keep as much of the spirit of place as possible. We will clean up, make some cosmetic changes, re-do the food and drink menu while keeping some classics and aim to offer a great update to a classic neighborhood restaurant. Great Jones Cafe was in my regular rotation of favorite NYC restaurants. I loved the food, especially the Gumbo. I am very excited to be able to continue the legacy — it was a no brainer to keep it as Great Jones Cafe."

On a reopening date:

"We are working diligently to bring Great Jones Cafe back to the neighborhood as soon as possible."

James Moffett, the longtime owner of the Great Jones Cafe, died on July 10. The restaurant never reopened following his death.

Previously on EV Grieve:
RIP Jim Moffett, owner of the Great Jones Cafe

New owners vying for the Great Jones Cafe space

[Updated] The future of the former Great Jones Cafe

Tuesday, October 2, 2018

[Updated] The future of the former Great Jones Cafe



Applicants vying for the former Great Jones Cafe space will return before Community Board 2's SLA licensing committee tonight.

Here's the background info as presented via CB2:

The Great Jones Cafe - Returning
(OP) Licenses: — J.F. Jones, Inc., d/b/a Great Jones Café, 54 Great Jones St. (100% Corp Change) (OP – Restaurant)

Great Jones Hospitality LLC, comprised of Anthony C. Marano, Scott Marano, Jonathan Kavourakis and Byron Burnbaum, is becoming the primary investor in J.F. Jones Inc. d/b/a Great Jones Café after the death of James Moffett. Anthony Marano owns the building. Great Jones Café has been open since 1983 and has continually had a liquor license since then. The hours of operation that are presented are from 11 AM to 4 AM 7 days. There are 8 tables, 31 seats and 1 bar with 5 seats. They state they are a restaurant with background music. There is existing sound proofing. One employee will be designated to ensure that at all times the sidewalk will not become a nuisance to neighbors.

The principals have agreed to a new kitchen venting system and have expressed a willingness to reduce the hours of their license to 2 am Sunday through Wednesday and 4 am Thursday through Saturday. Negotiations and stipulations are ongoing.

The applicants appeared before CB2’s SLA committee on Sept. 4. (For starters, they will keep the name the Great Jones Cafe.) During that meeting, Kavourakis (aka Chef Big Sexy), whose résumé includes stints in the kitchen at The Stanton Social (Chef de Cuisine) and Vandal (executive chef and partner), described the menu for the new venture as "modern American" with "very approachable foods" and "a place where it's comfortable to eat every day." (He noted that the Cajun cuisine served at the Great Jones Cafe is "not trending now.")

Two local residents, including longtime Noho power broker Zella Jones, spoke out against the application, sharing concerns about the 4 a.m. close (Great Jones Cafe also had hours until 4 a.m.) as well as the noise from the kitchen exhaust that overlooks the sidewalk.

In the end, both the applicants and CB2 agreed to a layover on the application to allow time for Kavourakis and company to explore a new venting hook up and reconsider the hours of operation.

Tonight's CB2 SLA meeting starts at 6:30 at St. Anthony of Padua Church, 151-155 Sullivan St. (at Houston Street), Lower Hall.

Moffett, the longtime owner of the Great Jones Cafe on Great Jones Street west of the Bowery, died on July 10. The restaurant never reopened following his untimely death.

Updated 5:30 p.m.

Avi Burn of Pinks and Pinks Cantina is also one of the applicants. He shared some addition information.

"Chef Jonathan is aiming to create a menu that people can eat several times per week. We felt Cajun food — while amazing and hearty — is a once-in-a-while treat for many people. Nevertheless we will pay homage to the old menu with some GJ classics and some inspiration from the old menu."

Burn said that the "not trending" quote about Cajun food was taken out of context.

Here's more:

The idea was really to keep as much of the spirit of place as possible. We will clean up, make some cosmetic changes, re-do the food and drink menu while keeping some classics and aim to offer a great update to a classic neighborhood restaurant.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A request not to leave any more bread at the Great Jones Cafe

RIP Jim Moffett, owner of the Great Jones Cafe

New owners vying for the Great Jones Cafe space

Thursday, August 23, 2018

New owners vying for the Great Jones Cafe space


[EVG file photo]

It appears new proprietors are preparing to take over the Great Jones Cafe, the 35-year-old restaurant near the Bowery that has not open since the untimely death of owner Jim Moffett on July 10.

EVG reader JS shared this item from Community Board 2's September meeting agenda (which is not yet online):

Applications to the New York State Liquor Authority (SLA) for Corporate Change Application to existing Restaurant Wine (RW), Tavern Wine (TW) or Full Liquor On-Premise (OP) Licenses: J.F. Jones, Inc., d/b/a Great Jones Café, 54 Great Jones St. 10012 (100% Corp Change) (OP – Restaurant)

That's not much to go on for the moment. A tipster has told us that the Cajun-themed Great Jones Cafe would be returning — in some form. The tipster's exact words: "They're trying to keep it the same."

Will update when more details are available about the applicants.

Previously on EV Grieve:
A request not to leave any more bread at the Great Jones Cafe

RIP Jim Moffett, owner of the Great Jones Cafe

Friday, July 27, 2018

A request not to leave any more bread at the Great Jones Cafe


[Photo from July 14]

The Great Jones Cafe remains closed (since July 10) ... yet the bread deliveries continue. The box that arrived on July 14 sat outside for several days before someone eventually emptied it.

Yesterday, an employee in the garage next door put up a sign asking the delivery people to stop leaving the bread...



The 35-year-old restaurant near the Bowery has not opened for business since the untimely death of owner Jim Moffett on July 10.

The status of the Great Jones Cafe is unknown at the moment. One tipster said that a broker was showing the space on Wednesday.

Monday, July 23, 2018

Great Jones Cafe remains closed


[Photo from Saturday]

Jim Moffett, the longtime owner of the Great Jones Cafe on Great Jones Street, died on July 10. (A cause of death was not disclosed. A friend said that Moffett was 59.)

And the restaurant near the Bowery has remained closed since Moffett's passing. To date, there hasn't been any announcement about when, or if, the downtown fixture (since 1983) will reopen. The Cafe's phone has been disconnected ... and there haven't been any messages for patrons on either the Cafe's website or social media platforms. Several generic, pre-sceheduled posts arrived on Facebook, but were eventually removed...



Moffett became owner of the Great Jones Cafe in 1989.

Tuesday, July 17, 2018

RIP Jim Moffett, owner of the Great Jones Cafe


[Photo via LinkedIn]

Several readers shared the sad news that Jim Moffett, the owner of the 35-year-old Great Jones Cafe on Great Jones Street, died last week.

His brother Don confirmed this in a Facebook post early Saturday...

Dear Friends,
My beloved brother Jim passed away Tuesday July 10. Thank you all for your heartfelt messages....and hold him in your prayers. You have my deepest gratitude.

A friend said that Moffett was 59.

According to Moffett's LinkedIn profile: "Great Jones Cafe has been serving great food and drink in NoHo since 1983. I went there so often, I bought the place in 1989. Sometimes I say I bought it twice."

Meanwhile, there isn't any word just yet on the future status of the restaurant, which has not been open since service ended on July 10.

There's no message at the restaurant, its website or social media accounts. The phone goes unanswered during business hours.


[Photo from Saturday]

Last July, there were conflicting reports that the Cajun favorite near the Bowery was ending its long run here. Members of the waitstaff had told regulars that the diner was shutting down. The story changed on July 26, on what was said to be their last day. An employee told the Daily News that the Great Jones would close for a week of clean-up, and decide then whether or not to reopen.

There was a huge turnout on July 26. There were tributes to the restaurant with 10 tables and the menu stenciled on the wall.

However, the Great Jones did reopen on Aug. 2. According to the Daily News that day:

Moffet claimed that he shutdown the eatery for one week following a "very serious" hospital stay last month that prevented him from operating the place. When reporters called last week to check on rumors The Great Jones Cafe was going out of business for good, Moffett didn't get back to them and rumor spread that it was an end of an era.

At the time, Moffett said there was more than a year left on the lease and the restaurant remained on good terms with the landlord. (Gothamist has more from last August here.)

Meanwhile, his friends left tributes to him on Facebook. Wrote one: "He was one of the sweetest, caring people I have ever known."

Wednesday, August 2, 2017

The Great Jones Cafe will reopen starting tonight



The Great Jones Café will live on. The restaurant posted on its website and Facebook page last evening that they will reopen tonight at 5 after a one-week break.

Early last week, members of the waitstaff told diners that the 34-year-old Cajun favorite on Great Jones near the Bowery was closing for good. The story changed later on Wednesday, on what was said to be their last day. An employee told the Daily News that the Great Jones would close for a week of clean-up, and decide then whether or not to reopen. The employee said a permanent closure was a possibility, "but nothing has been decided yet." Another employee that night told DNAnfo that they could be closed for up to a year.

Perhaps the robust turnout last Wednesday evening helped the Cafe make a decision.

Updated noon:

Gothamist spoke to Great Jones owner Jim Moffett.

Some excerpts of the interview.

What happened is I got pretty badly hurt a week ago Saturday and went to the hospital. [Editor's note: Moffett said he was hospitalized for a "severe injury" but declined to elaborate.] In my absence we were forced to close for a short period of time but it was never my intention that the news should get out that we're closing period. It was a temporary closing until I got out of the hospital — which I did yesterday.

And...

We have some time left on the lease, not a lot of time. We've always been on a relatively short lease, I don't know why. This landlord, and the previous landlord, it's always been three to five year leases. I'd rather not get into the exact details, however, despite the fact that I owe the landlord some back rent—I'll be up front about that—he has told me that he wants us to stay as long as possible. There are no indications from him that he wants us out; quite to the contrary. We have a good relationship, he's a good guy. I don't foresee any trouble on that front.

Meanwhile, as Grub Street noted today, "Maybe it was the response [to the closing] that ensured the reopening."

Previously on EV Grieve:
The Great Jones Café is now closed, permanently or not

Friday, July 28, 2017

The Great Jones Café is now closed, permanently or not



Updated 8/2: Great Jones Cafe is reopening tonight.

A sign appeared in the window yesterday at the Great Jones Café noting the following...



"We are closed. Hope to reopen soon!"

On Tuesday night, news spread — via the waitstaff — that the 34-year-old Cajun restaurant just west of the Bowery was permanently closing after service on Wednesday evening. (One waitress told a diner that their lease was up.) Meanwhile, in recent months, several people formerly employed by the Café had said the end was near, that ownership would try something more upscale to appeal to the changing neighborhood. There were a lot of rumors.

Later in the day on Wednesday, an unnamed employee told the Daily News that the Great Jones would close for a week of clean-up, and decide then whether or not to reopen. The employee said a permanent closure was a possibility, "but nothing has been decided yet."

Per Bedford + Bowery on Wednesday: "This evening, an employee at the Jones [said] that it’s closing for a week; after that it will reopen — or not. More likely not, she said."

And DNAinfo reported this:

A waitress working Wednesday night's dinner rush, who declined to share her name, was more vague about its future, saying the eatery was shuttering for an unknown period of time due to proprietor James Moffett's health.

"The owner is not in good health and we are closing indefinitely," she said. "It may be a week, a month, a year — we don't know."

One EVG reader who went for a last meal there Wednesday night was told by the waitress that that was it for the Great Jones while the bartender said they might reopen. The reader had the impression that no one really knew what was going to happen with the place. Other accounts of the evening (here and here, for instance) didn't hint that the Great Jones Café will ever be back.

For what this is worth, Yelp has already stated that the Café is permanently closed...



And there are some longtime Café regulars who feel the place died when longtime GM Bill Judkins was dismissed back in March, taking his 45s from the acclaimed jukebox with him.

Previously on EV Grieve:
After 34 years off the Bowery, the Great Jones Café closes tonight (79 comments)

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

[Updated] After 34 years off the Bowery, the Great Jones Café closes tonight



Updated 8/2: Great Jones Cafe is reopening tonight.

The Great Jones Café, the low-key Cajun-Creole restaurant that opened in 1983, is shutting its doors tonight after service.

Multiple tipsters shared this news (H/T Spike). The initial word passed along from staff to patrons last night is that the lease is up at the restaurant on Great Jones Street just off the Bowery. However, that has not been confirmed and an official reason for a closure hasn't been offered.

---

Updated: A longtime employee told the Daily News that the Café will close after tonight "for a week of clean-up, and during that break, the 34-year-old institution will decide whether or not they’ll ever open again."

And:

“It’s a possibility, but nothing has been decided yet,” according to one long time employee.

---



Back in March, Bill Judkins, who had been GM for 26 years (and an employee for longer), was fired.

He told me this in an email in April:

My two partners and I have not seen eye to eye about the direction the restaurant needed move in for a few years now. I’ve been arguing that The Jones is unique and special, one of a vanishing breed (certainly in Manhattan) that is loved and needs to be preserved. They feel that the Jones needs to be changed into something more contemporary to appeal to the “new" neighborhood.

It came to a head this past March 10th, when they forced me out.

Since then, four employees have quit. The jukebox has gone dark. They took the Mardi Gras beads off the bar lamps that they’ve been on for years. They took down the Christmas lights that illuminated the room. I’m not sure what other changes are planned.

I think it has been a special little “joint” for many, many years. It seems a sad way for it to go down.

The jukebox, stocked with the likes of the Flying Burrito Brothers and Howlin’ Wolf that Judkins curated, was typically named on the city's best-of lists. (Judkins removed his records from the jukebox after being fired.)



On my last visit here in April, the jukebox sat unplugged in its usual spot. The bartender had the stereo on behind the bar. (I recall hearing Coldplay and Keane.)



In January 2015, Eater's Robert Sietsema wrote this appreciation of the Great Jones Café:

The website of Great Jones Café mentions that when the place first opened in June, 1983, Great Jones Street was so isolated and desolate that after eating, patrons would often rush outside and indulge in a game of Wiffle Ball uninterrupted by traffic. Nowadays in this bustling, now-upscale Bowery neighborhood, street sports — as well as rents — are impossible. Yet Great Jones Café remains, as much a clubhouse providing reasonably priced meals for the artists, writers, and rock musicians who have lived and labored in the vicinity as it is a place that employs them when the royalty checks dry up.

And...

I had two very enjoyable meals in an atmosphere blessedly quiet and relaxed, even with the jukebox. It made me nostalgic for an era in downtown New York when real estate pressures didn’t dominate everything, when food didn’t always have to be the best and most expensive it could be, when a meal was simply a meal, best consumed among friends.

As an EVG tipster noted, the newcomers in that area now want to go to places like Atla on Lafayette for plates of $12 Brussels Sprouts..



Updated 7/27

WPIX was at the restaurant and filed a report last evening.