June 10, 2021

This paid piece is sponsored by JJ’s Wine, Spirits & Cigars.

If JJ’s Wine, Spirits & Cigars has become your go-to place to meet up for a beverage – and for many people it has – get ready to eat even more while you’re there.

The kitchen has received a few upgrades, which means a new menu is rolling out soon.

“It was a significant investment, but it was necessary,” owner Tom Slattery said.

“We’re excited that people have found us to be that place they want to gather with friends, and so not only are we going to tap into the food component to support that, but we’ll continue building our craft cocktail culture.”

What to expect

Chef Kaleb Blue has some new culinary tools at his disposal as he creates additions for the JJ’s menu.

“We put in a griddle, so we can do tacos and more quick-serve items, and we made room for an additional fryer for more fun, bar-friendly foods,” Slattery said.

“And we added a charbroiler — think more burgers and steaks in the near future. So while we’re going have a few new staple items, we’ll also be able to add a greater variety of feature items.”

Featured through Saturday: Three corn tortillas with shrimp and avocado in a house lobster citrus cabbage slaw and topped with queso fresco cheese. Served with a side of cilantro lime rice.

The full-service menu will start at 3 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and noon Friday and Saturday.

“We wanted to focus our weekday activity on the happy hour crowd,” Slattery said. Food service also has been expanded until 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday to catch a few late diners. “We really want to stay focused on prime time and not late night. But expanding to 9 p.m. on the weekends was a no-brainer.”

The JJ’s kitchen is moving away from heat-and-eat for winter to cold-service options great for lunch or picnics: sandwiches, wraps, pasta salad, bean salads and more.

“Our culinary team is going to be rolling out some new fun grab-n-go stuff. We’re pretty excited about that!” Slattery said.

On Sunday and Monday, anything is available grab-and-go, and pizzas and dips are served in the bar.

Boozy Bakery gains too

The kitchen upgrade was also good news for The Boozy Bakery, which now has a dedicated oven for bulk and stock baking and overall more efficient use of space.

And the summer seasonal favorite, boozy and non-boozy ice cream, has returned and will be growing with six or seven varieties regularly, new flavors and single-serve or to-go sizes.

“It’s just an overall better environment for everyone,” Slattery said. “Our whole team is excited by the potential to be able to do what they really want to do.”

Still available

Prefer curbside service? That’s still an option too, only using email ordering. Visit the website to place an order for curbside delivery or email directly to [email protected]. All orders must be received before 4 p.m. for same-day pickup. Any orders received after 4 p.m. will not be processed until the following business day.

Live music returns

Live music is definitely back, starting June 11 with the Levitt outdoor concert series at Falls Park West.

JJ’s again will run the beverage service, and check out what awaits:

• Twelve beers on tap: Local brews (16 ounces) — Fernson Lion’s Paw, Severance Sound Vision Blood Orange Pilsner, Obscure Brewing Tangerine Tempo, Remedy Brewing MarketBrew Hoppy Wheat, Remedy Worker Bee Cream Ale, Ben’s West Side Live IPA and Covert Artisan Ales Synthesis 2 IPA. Popular beers (16 ounces) — Bud Light, Michelob Ultra, Coors Light and Miller Lite.
• Wine: Fruit and Flower Chardonnay, Rose and Bubbly, Anew Pinot Grigio, Bota Box Riesling, Bota Box Cabernet and Bota Box Pinot Noir.
• Cocktails:  Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Old Forester Bourbon, New Amsterdam Gin, Malibu Rum, Captain Morgan Spiced Rum. We will have all the fun mixers: Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, pineapple, grapefruit, orange, cranberry, tonic and club soda, ginger ale and ginger beer.
• Nonalcoholic beverages: Levitt at the Falls will be selling pop and bottled water.

Plus, live music returns to JJ’s Bar on June 17 with The Foxgloves, traveling from Minneapolis to play bluegrass/Americana tunes from 7 to 9 p.m. Enjoy the food and drink specials too.