CJ’s Grille to open downtown
Published 12:42 am Saturday, August 6, 2016
The popular downtown restaurant, CJ’s, will return to Andalusia in October, owner Casey Jones said Friday.
Jones was busy working on renovations inside the new location on East Three Notch, between DigiPrint and Cagle Jewelry in the building that most recently housed The Gallery.
Jones said he’s already removed the plaster from 68 feet of wall to achieve the exposed brick look that will be just one of many textures featured in the restaurant.
“We’ve got metal, brick, wood and concrete,” he said. He’s planning stained wood floors, and having a bench the length of one side of the dining room constructed from wood reclaimed from a barn. There also will be a bar area, and he expects to seat a total of about 56 people.
“Yes, we’ll have chips. That’s the first question people ask,” he said, referring to the homemade potato chips previously on the menu at CJ’s. The menu also will feature steaks, seafood, pasta, salad entrees and sandwiches, and the restaurant will be open for lunch and dinner. Daily lunch specials also will return.
“Our lunch ticket will average $10 out the door,” he said. “Night will be $15 to $18, but we’ll also have some more expensive entrees. It’s going to be nice.”
Jones said he expects to employ four full-time management positions; four other full-time employees and approximately 12 part-time employees.
He hopes to open in early October, and immediate plans are to be open daily for lunch, including Sundays, and closed Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights.