Jake n JOES to Open Foxborough Location on March 26

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It may have taken longer than many expected but Jake n JOES Sports Grille is finally set to open its doors in Foxborough.

Amy S. Riordan, director of sales & marketing for Chateau Restaurants, told Foxborough Patch Thursday morning the sports grille will open for dinner only on Tuesday, March 26 at 4:30 p.m. before expanding its service to lunch (11 a.m. opening) and dinner on Tuesday, April 2.

“We like a soft opening so that we may work the kinks out,” Riordan said in an earlier interview.

The sports grille had targeted opening by the end of January but renovations moved that date into February. However, significant changes to the floor plan that was submitted with the restaurant’s liquor license and permits forced Jake n JOES to further delay its opening while ownership got the paperwork in order with both the town and state.

Jake n JOES representatives met with Foxborough’s Board of Selectmen on Feb. 26 to submit an updated floor plan and selectmen swiftly approved the restaurant’s licenses needed to operate in town. From there, the restaurant waited for the state’s Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC) to issue final approval of the license, which occurred earlier this week.

Riordan said there are still employment opportunities available at the Foxborough location.

“We have some positions available for the Foxborough location,” said Riordan.

The positions are:

• Cooks
• Salads
• Dishwashers

Riordan says those interested can apply in person at the 25 Foxborough Blvd. location, Monday thru Saturday.

The Foxborough sports grille will feature two dining rooms and one bar. The bar will seat 28 while dining room one will seat 80 patrons and dining room two will seat 92, according to the company’s floor plan.

While Jake n JOES is described as a sports grille, restaurant manager Gerrard D. Fruggiero and owner James Nocera – who also owns The Chateau Restaurant Company – said their restaurants are family friendly and food first.

“We are 60 percent food, 40 percent liquor,” said Nocera. “We are not a liquor place. We are a food place first and liquor comes second. It’s really worked out well."

Fruggiero added the restaurant should not be thought of as a pub or tavern.

“It’s particularly different from a pub or a tavern,” Fruggiero said. “With a pub or tavern people more or less just sit there and drink beer. We are a restaurant first [establishment] with a sports bar concept.”

Jake n JOES Sports Grille is the product of a dream Nocera and his brother had of wanting to open a sports grille. In 2010, they got that opportunity in Norwood.

“Our family is very into sports, six boys in the family and we were really into sports,” Nocera said. “We always wanted to try a sports grille. We had the opportunity across the street from The Chateau in Norwood to give this a try and it has gone very well. We enjoy it … all throughout the day it has different clientele – from business during the day to families for dinner and a late, younger night crowd.”

The Foxborough location will be only the second Jake n JOES Sports Grille in the country.

Jake n JOES Sports Grille, according to its directory listing on Norwood Patch, is “a contemporary American restaurant and bar that features a wide variety of dining options for lunch and dinner, including appetizers such as nachos, wings, quesadillas, tacos, spring rolls, bread sticks and sliders, salads, soups, specialty and create-your-own burgers, steak tips, ribs, fajitas and more. Jake N' Joes Sports Grille additionally serves draft beer, red and white wines and cocktails, and provides DJ and live entertainment.”

Click here to view a menu.

TELL US: Do you plan on dining at Jake n JOES next week during its dinner only opening? What about Foxborough's newest business are you looking forward to most? Let us know in the comments section!