“One last hoorah” is how Jordan Dikegoros, the owner of J Restaurant and Bar, described Thursday as his restaurant is closing its doors after 54 years to make room for an expansion of Connecticut Children’s.
A new nine-story $60 million parking garage for Connecticut Children’s, retail space, and more is being built where the property now sits, according to the website for the project and Connecticut Children’s.
On Thursday, four historic homes on Lincoln Street that sat behind J Restaurant and Bar were lifted and relocated. Those homes will be renovated.
“We’re doing egg sandwiches, bloody Marys, mimosas outside this morning. People can watch the houses go down the street. Then this afternoon we’re doing a last house on the block party. We’re the last building standing,” Dikegoros explained.
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Dikegoros said it had been an emotional few months as he and his staff prepared to say goodbye to a place many of them have known as another home.
“We appreciate all the support over all the years. We definitely miss everybody, there’s been a lot of tears shed over the years,” he said. “This is kind of weird. It’s our last day of doing any kind of cooking, which is not even happening in the restaurant.”
The more than a century-old building that was once a mansion is headed for demolition. Shutting the restaurant’s doors and selling the building were both tough decisions that Dikegoros said took years to make.
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“It was a lot of it. It took us, it was probably a two-and-a-half year, three-year back-and-forth negotiations. Do we really want to do this?” he explained. “Children’s Hospital has been great neighbors for us for all these years. It’s our turn to give back to them and yeah, we sold everything so they can take our building down,” Dikegoros said.
He and another staff member recalled serving workers at Children’s over the years. They also remembered what it was like serving them as they were on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dikegoros’ father founded the restaurant in 1970 as a pizza spot.
Jordan Dikegoros took over 37 years ago and switched it over to J Restaurant and Bar in 2007. Though the cuisine, name, and concept has changed, the building has always been with this team. However, they haven’t always been with the building. It has its own history.
“This is the building that should’ve been saved and moved. This building is over 150 years old. It was one of the mansions on Washington Street back in its day. Then it was converted to retail back in the ‘30s. We came into it in 1970, and I’ve done four or five additions to the building,” Dikegoros added.
While the four historic houses are getting a new beginning, the building the restaurant is in is seeing its end.
Several patrons have walked through the now-empty restaurant to sign their names on the wall ahead of the demolition.
Dikegoros said some have even cut out bricks from the wall just to have a piece of a place that was so special to them. All of the furniture and kitchen items have been moved into a warehouse in Newington until the owner and staff decide on an answer to the looming question.
“What’s next? That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” Dikegoros explained. “We’re just kind of taking a deep breath, re-assessing everything and figuring out what’s going to be the best fit for all of us and how we’re going to best suit the community.”
Dikegoros added that some potential options he is considering includes opening up a commercial kitchen elsewhere, searching for a suburban neighborhood to plant roots and reestablish in, or coming back to be a part of the new garage and retail space.
He added that the restaurant has until Sunday to vacate the property and a demolition date isn’t clear yet but will likely happen in the coming months.
