It’s the end of an era for P.J.’s Luncheonette (530 Euclid Ave., 216-861-2475), the no-frills breakfast and lunch diner in the Colonial Arcade. For 34 years, owners Gene and Odie have been dishing up 3-dollar breakfasts, cheeseburger deluxes with fries, and grilled liver and onions to an appreciative and loyal set of downtown customers. That all will end in the next few weeks.

While sad, the story does have a silver lining.

The business is being purchased by Randy Carter, the chef-owner of Jack Flaps (3900 Lorain Ave., 216-961-5199, jack-flaps.com) in Ohio City. The official transfer of ownership could happen in as little as two weeks, he says, so now is your time to go in, say goodbye to Gene, and enjoy one last meal at the counter.

“I’ve been talking to Gene and he told me that he really wants to retire,” explains Carter, adding that the owner still works the line every day. “He said, ‘I’m ready.’”

Carter said that he’ll close the diner only briefly to ready it for his new restaurant, which will officially be called Jack Flaps Luncheonette at Fifth Street Arcades.

“It shouldn’t take more than a month to reopen it,” he says.

When it does reopen, it will feature a new layout with bar (and hopefully liquor license). The morning menu will resemble that of Jack Flaps, with quirky breakfast items built around pancakes and waffles. At lunch time, Carter will roll out more traditional American-style diner foods, he says, building off the three-plus decades of tradition under his feet. New for both PJ’s and Jack Flaps, however, is the happy hour and dinner service, which will be geared toward the growing downtown residential market. That menu, adds Carter, is still a work in progress.

Stay tuned to this channel for all the latest updates. 

This article appears in Jan 21-27, 2015.

For 25 years, Douglas Trattner has worked as a full-time freelance writer, editor and author. His work as co-author on Michael Symon's cookbooks have earned him four New York Times Best-Selling Author honors, while his longstanding role as Scene dining editor has garnered awards of its own.

7 replies on “P.J.’s Luncheonette to Close after 30 years, Jack Flaps to Expand Brand to Downtown”

  1. I heard this is not final and the new guy jumped the gun. Whatever Gene is selling it for, he should get more – this place is a good mine.

  2. Flap Jacks is a group of hipsters, charging ridiculous amounts for pancakes, and breakfast in general. Jumping on the CLE hipster movement really gave them stride. And their parents money too. Doubt they could ever do a real breakfast there.

  4. carolyn – there are, quite literally, hundreds of diners where you can get eggs, bacon, and toast for a few bucks. go have your ‘real breakfast’ there, whatever that means. jack flaps is doing something unique, and clearly people like it.

    ‘a group of hipsters’ – what does that even mean? can you define that word please? in the context of your rant, i assume it’s defined as ‘young people doing something i don’t understand.’

  5. Actually, as a resident of Downtown, there are NOT many, if any, DT establishments serving a classic egg, toast, & bacon breakfast for less than $4 like PJ’s. I am excited to see a new restaurant but this place was great and will be dearly missed. Congrats to Gene and Otie! Cheers to a wonderful retirement for this hard working couple.

  6. I am sad to hear of the possible closing of PJ’s. This is a truly legendary place! Great food at a reasonable price. More importantly, the owners and staff, without exception, were always very friendly.

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