Jons back to business
By Laura McFarland
Staff Reporter

The writing on the wall will remain.

Years worth of floor-to-ceiling graffiti on the walls of Jons Grille is not in danger of disappearing. Jan Meyerson, the new owner, said she will keep the restaurant open and unchanged.

Meyerson became the proprietor of Jons Grille when her brother, Jon Meyerson, died of a self-inflicted wound Nov. 24. The restaurant has been a popular local hang-out for students and faculty since it opened in 1989.

Jonathan Sampson/MANAGING EDITOR Tom Connovs, a R.L. Paschal Senior High School student, purchases food at Jons Grille Tuesday night. Jons Grille has been a popular local hang-out for students and faculty since it opened in 1989.

Though she heard rumors that the restaurant might be closed down permanently, Jan Meyerson said there was never any danger that she wouldn’t open the restaurant again.
“When everyone thought it was closed and it wasn’t, they were so excited to have a second chance,” Jan Meyerson said. “There wasn’t a doubt we would stay open, but I had to try to get myself together.”

Jan Meyerson said she needed to regroup and figure out what action she was going to take, but she had the restaurant open again within a week.

With the exception of adding a chicken tender sandwich and chicken tender salad to the menu, the restaurant has remained exactly the same, Jan Meyerson said.

A few small changes are all the new owner of the restaurant should make, said Devereaux Branham, a sophomore business and psychology major. The tradition of a friendly atmosphere has made Jons Grille a great place for college students to come and shouldn’t be tampered with, he said

“It’s a great place to have lunch with friends that you don’t get to see too often,” Branham said. “I can’t think of anything that needs to change. It’s a good college place to hang out.”

Crystal Zavala, a Jons Grille employee, said students like the restaurant because it can be both a fun environment and a good place to study, but he said good customer service is the real draw.

“A new person comes in here and we make sure they want to come back,” Zavala said.

“The same with an old customer—we treat them with respect and make sure they want to come back.”

Since Jan Meyerson took over Jons Grille, she has come to understand how important the restaurant is to the community.

“I cannot get over all of the regular customers that have come through and thanked us for staying open,” Jan Meyerson said.

Though she graduated from TCU in May 2001 teacher Marissa Nava said she continues to eat at Jons Grille because it is convenient, fun and delicious.

“When I saw in the paper that they said it was closed for right now and it might not open up, I was disappointed,” Nava said. “I like the place. I consider it one of the best places to eat hamburgers.”

Laura McFarland
L.D.McFarland@student.tcu.edu

TCU Daily Skiff © 2002