JJ’s restaurant will re-open across the street from its former location on the Country Club Plaza, which was destroyed by an explosion on Feb. 19, 2013.
The new location will be in the lobby of the Plaza Vista building at 960 W. 48th Place and feature a large patio.
Plaza Vista is home to the Polsinelli law firm and opened in November 2013. The area has been in construction since 2005, much of it was part of the failed West Edge project.
JJ’s owner Jimmy Frantze says business at the restaurant plummeted with construction just across the street for years and calls moving into the development “beyond ironic.”
While the location may be new, Frantze says much of the old JJ’s will return. He says 90 percent of the staff is expected to be back and the menu will be the same.
Frantze also lost an extensive wine collection in the explosion. He says much of that will return but some of the rarest bottles are irreplaceable.
Art is the final detail in bringing back JJ’s. Artist Mike Savage, whose art was hung both inside and out of the original JJ’s, will be painting a mural and other artwork in the building.