Jose Reyes is lastly making good on his dream.
Subsequent month, the native wedding ceremony venue proprietor will open JP Restaurant and Lounge within the former Sarto’s area in Jefferson Park.
“About 10 years in the past … I assumed opening a restaurant can be a terrific concept,” the previous McDonald’s supervisor stated.
Reyes, to not be confused with the short-lived Rockies shortstop, stated he ran a number of areas of the fast-food chain and flipped “a bunch” from within the crimson to profitability.
“However only a restaurant typically is hard,” he continued, noting that the timing wasn’t proper then. “So what may very well be one thing that folks at all times have cash for? If it’s only a restaurant they may say, ‘I’ll eat at residence.’ However individuals at all times need to drink and watch sports activities.”
Reyes’ 3,000-square-foot spot at 2900 W. twenty fifth Ave., which has two outside patios, will serve typical bar fare amid a set of TVs, the place patrons can benefit from the newest sport. Wings, tenders and burgers might be served together with some Mexican dishes, reminiscent of tacos.
Reyes may also serve breakfast and brunch. That portion of the menu may also characteristic each American staples — omelets, French toast, Eggs Benedicts — and issues like chilaquiles, a Reyes favourite that options egg-topped tortilla chips fried in a brothy sauce.
“On this neighborhood, there’s actually nothing for American breakfast. And all of the bars round right here open after 3 p.m.,” he stated. “Early, it’ll be a lounge-y vibe with some bottomless mimosas, and between 2 and three p.m. we’ll change to a sports activities bar.”
Reyes signed a 10-year lease in mid-June for the spot, which has been sitting vacant since Sarto’s Italian eatery left unceremoniously in late-2020.
Reyes is pleased to be within the second-generation area. All he needed to do was fill it with tables, chairs, home equipment and a recent coat of paint. He hopes to open the constructing’s brick-walled basement with pool tables and a bar someday sooner or later — a course of that Sarto’s began earlier than it closed, he stated.
After Reyes left McDonald’s a number of years in the past, he went into the auto trade, working within the finance division for native Buick and Nissan supplier Alpine. A couple of yr and a half in the past, he stated, he opened Royal Occasion Heart in Thornton, which hosts quinceañeras and weddings.
For the restaurant, Reyes stated he regarded across the metro space earlier than deciding on Jefferson Park.
“We had been all over, however right here it was extra neighborhood and household oriented, extra neighborhood. It was extra fascinating,” Reyes stated. “This checks all of the wants that I had from the beginning.”
David Schneider of Axio Industrial represented landlord Jefferson Park LLC, whose working supervisor is native businessman Ken Wolf. Marin Dornseif of Kaufman Hagan represented the tenant.
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