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Hope they have their biscuits there too.
No, this is not about a dentist with a cape...
Jim's going upscale with café, coffee bar
Web Posted: 04/28/2005 12:00 AM CDT
John Griffin
Express-News Dining Editor
The first Jim's Café and Coffee Bar is expected to open next week — and it won't be the Jim's you think you know. The store, at West Hildebrand and San Pedro avenues, is the first of a new concept that the restaurant chain's parent company, Frontier Enterprises, is testing.
"We're hoping to have everything done by Monday morning," says Patrick Richardson, president and chief operating officer of Frontier Enterprises.
By "everything," he means a coffee bar serving an array of Seattle's Best coffees as well as new indoor and outdoor seating, pastries from Nadler's Bakery and desserts from the Cheesecake Factory. There will also be beer and wine on the menu.
If all that sounds too startling for the regular Jim's customer, rest assured that there will be quite a few traces of the old Jim's in place, including a reduced menu of favorites, Richardson says.
The new format comes in response to customer requests for upscale coffee as well as attempts to broaden Jim's dinner base with such dishes as San Antonio Shrimp Pasta, featuring bacon-wrapped shrimp with jalapeńo slivers over linguine, and Mediterranean Chicken Pasta with artichoke hearts, feta cheese and kalamata olives.
"Jim's has always done well with its breakfast and lunch menus," he says. "This is our biggest opportunity to generate a dinner business."
Frontier Enterprises has gone through a number of changes in its history, including drive-ins, before the Jim's Restaurant format was established, Richardson says. The café and coffee bar are simply the next stage in its evolution.
"This is an opportunity for us to explore," he says.
Founder Jim Hasslocher has been supportive of the new concept. Or, as Richardson puts it, he's "been gracious to let me play."
Not all of the Jim's Restaurants will be made over. But two more coffee bars are being planned. One will be in a renovated store at Blanco and Loop 410, the other at Loop 1604 and Culebra.
The new Jim's Café will be open daily from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Hope they have their biscuits there too.
MMM good stuff manHope they have their biscuits there too.
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