Trinity
Naina owner opens quirky diner at Jack's Southern Comfort Food
Jo 24 has retained the funky but cheerful decor Jack's left behind.Photo by Teresa Gubbins
Atmosphere at Jo 24 is brightened by gracious hostess Naina Sriwa.Photo by Teresa Gubbins
Jo 24 sign, made of yellow tape stuck to the window, is rudimentaryPhoto by Teresa Gubbins
Barely a week after Jack's Southern Comfort Food had vacated the premises, a new restaurant called Jo 24 has popped up in the very same location at 1905 Greenville Avenue, where it is serving a menu of American classics and breakfast all day. Owner Naina Srirathakul was already opening a restaurant next-door called Naina when Jack's sailed away.
"I'm not happy, I feel so bad they had to leave," she says about Jack's departure. "But with all the empty space and nobody here, it looked lonely."
Jo 24 is a menu of American classics including spaghetti, hamburgers and breakfast all day.
At Naina, which won't open until the fall, she'll serve Thai and Japanese food. But Jo 24 has a different menu.
"Right now Jo24 is open for American food," she says. "My great grandfather lives in New York, and I used to live there. They have spaghetti, hamburgers. So that's what I did here."
Her menu includes diner-style sandwiches like a BLT, club sandwich, burger and patty melt. There's also a section of dinner items like meat loaf, beef tips over noodles, spaghetti with meat sauce and baked tilapia with brown rice and broccoli.
Breakfast is standard, including eggs, hash browns, omelets and pancakes. The place opens at 9 am on weekends and 11 am during the week, but breakfast is served all day long.
She hasn't done much in the way of changes to the modest, slightly funky decor left behind by Jack's. The sign on the window is a rudimentary one made from yellow tape. But the interior feels more cheery, and Naina is a smiling, friendly hostess.
One of the big obstacles for Jack's was parking. There's a big parking lot right next to Jo 24 that used to be available for clients of the former business, Worldwide Imports, but the landlord sold the parking lot.
"I have a parking lot in the back, we have spaces for customers," Naina says.
