Update: Back in March, we published a “first look” of chef Karen Small’s Juneberry Table. Today, Small announced that her modern diner will open to the public at 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, April 14th.
Here’s the original story from 02-18-2022:
Just as Karen Small was saying goodbye to the Flying Fig, she was preparing to open Juneberry Table, her long-stalled diner project in Ohio City. In fact, notes the chef, the former was a prerequisite for the latter given that she is relying on many of the same employees to accomplish the goal.
With permits in hand, including a liquor license, Small can focus on the last bit of recipe testing, stocking the bar and putting the finishing touches on the space. The project that began back in 2019 finally will come to fruition in early April.
“We’re excited to get going,” Small says. “We’re excited to open up.”
Small snatched up the space at 3900 Lorain Ave. soon after Jack Flaps closed its doors after five years. Much of the work done to make over the space was completed three years ago, but the project hit a wall in 2020. Now, with the dining landscape looking more optimistic than it has in two years, Small – a self-described “morning person” – says the time is right to debut her contemporary urban diner.
“I think it was a good idea back then and it think it’s maybe even a better idea now,” she says. “I think this whole neighborhood has gotten pretty vibrant and this corridor is better than when I first took the space over.”
Small points to the myriad residential buildings that seem to pop up in and around Ohio City with remarkable speed and frequency. To Small, each and every one of those new apartments signifies potential customers.
“I think breakfast, especially with people not working in the office, presents a whole new set of people who can come out, who can eat, who can drink coffee, drink juice, who can eat eggs on toast,” she says. “And they will, I think.”
Juneberry will feature an all-day breakfast and lunch menu largely inspired by the chef’s decade spent living outside of Athens, Ohio. Whether diners are aware of it or not, many of her popular brunch dishes have roots in Appalachia, fueled as they are by greens, grains, beans, cured meats and preserves. There will be some carryover from the Fig brunch – the biscuits and gravy and corn and andouille cakes might make the cut – but Small says that diners should not expect a carbon copy.
“I don’t want to just repeat what we did there,” she says. “I don’t think that’s a good message. I think it needs to be fresher and also carry-out friendly.”
Small reworked the cozy 30-seat diner in ways that make it lighter, brighter and more comfortable. She expanded the bar, added banquettes, built a booth, installed a window counter and added attractive light and decorative fixtures.
“We totally changed the layout,” she adds. “We made it really breakfast-y looking, and real bright.”
To start, Juneberry will be open 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday to Monday. Small says that she will put her liquor license to good use by adding the occasional “supper service,” perhaps on Monday nights.
This article appears in Mar 9-22, 2022.
