Jax Cafe, the quirky neighborhood restaurant co-owned by Brian Hale, is closing this weekend, according to a recent Facebook post.
Hale’s original intention was to open only for breakfast, lunch, and Sunday brunch, leaving the chef time to spend with his family. Jax Cafe (named after the daughter of Gina and David Seltzer, Hale’s partners) couldn’t sustain itself with those hours, however, so dinner service was added, for which there seemed to be a demand.
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Hale (right) described the fare as “gourmet eclectic comfort food,” and describe it he could. The former exec chef at Monarch is one of city’s more colorful and eloquent chef characters, so if Hale happened to be pontificating about a dish, consider it sold. (On an early visit, he talked us into ordering a hot dog, which we rarely do in a restaurant setting.)
Alas, as neither the chatty Hale—who we dubbed the “Pied Piper of culinary gab”—nor his partners were available for comment, we’re left with only their Facebook post…
After many angsts and hours of thought, we have decided to close Jax. Please join us to say goodbye and thank you to our Benton Park family this week. We have thoroughly enjoyed our time here and hope to possibly see you again in the future. Our last day of service will be Sunday 7/10 with our grand finale Brunch. We have made many friends and memories here and it is with a heavy heart we say goodbye. Thank you Benton Park and our wonderful friends and family for three years of fun. We will miss you!!
David, Gina, Chef Hale
