Since March, Jimmy Z’s Plates & Shakes has been closed, without an indication of when they would reopen. While they had their food truck at various events throughout the summer, the restaurant remained vacant for months.
According to General Manager Anthony Casas, one of the main reasons they closed was because of Owner Jimmy Zisovski’s knee injury.
“We closed temporarily a few months ago for many reasons, you know?” Casas said. “Rapid inflation, staffing, and Jimmy had to basically have a total knee repair. He injured his knee just by working, you know, 12 hours a day for 20 years. He needed the surgery, needed time to recover.”
Now that Zisovski’s surgeries have been completed, Jimmy Z’s finally has the chance to open while he recovers.
On Tuesday, Sept. 13, Jimmy Z’s announced on Instagram that there would be a soft opening for their restaurant the following day, from 3 to 8 p.m. According to the post, Wednesday would be “first come, first serve. Dine-in & take-out only.”
Then on Sept. 14, Jimmy Z’s finally opened back up for business.
From opening to closing, the restaurant was packed. Due to the overcrowding, some customers had to wait outside in line to order.
For students like SUNY Brockport junior Amber Amidon, the line at Jimmy Z’s was well worth the wait.
“I’m so excited about it reopening. I was thinking about a fruity pebble milkshake all day, I won’t lie. I’m also excited for the chicken fingers, they’re so good. They’re the best ones on Main Street,” Amidon said.
Although there was a long wait, customers were mainly patient and understanding the entire day.
“Today was the first day that we opened, and we’ve had a great turnout,” Casas said. “We’ve been jumping since 3 o’clock, for sure. I mean our phones have been ringing as well, but people have been quite understanding as they have been throughout the whole summer.”
According to SUNY Brockport junior Emily Meissner, who currently works at Jimmy Z’s, the limited ordering options will continue until Wednesday, Sept. 21.
“We’re not going to do any delivery orders or any phone call orders for the next week. Today is Wednesday, so for next Wednesday- whatever day that may be- that will be when we start doing phone orders and deliveries as well,” Meissner said.
Until then, orders will be taken on a first come, first serve basis for dining or take-out. Come Wednesday, Jimmy Z’s hours will fully open with all ordering options available.
In preparation for next week’s full open, Casas hopes to get the staff trained and ready.
“We are anticipating just a few weeks of our shortened hours, at least on Saturday and Sunday,” Casas said. “We’re hoping to get the staff trained, and we will be opening up more and focusing on lunch, as well as dinner on Saturday and Sundays. We’re all excited for that.”
Zisovski’s recent Facebook post highlights the new staff members, promoting others to “trust the process.”
“For the first time in nearly 20 years I met new employees after they were hired!”
While the restaurant’s staff gets trained, hours and ordering options will slowly become more available in the coming weeks. However, certain previously listed menu items won’t be.
“Jimmy has trimmed down the menu quite a bit, so people should probably be aware of that,” Casas said. “He’s got a couple things, a couple burgers coming soon. Hopefully they’ll be coming in the next week or two.”
Despite catering and working in a food truck since March, Casas is glad to be back working at Jimmy Z’s.
“I’ve been really happy to get back in touch with the community, face-to-face here,” Casas said. “We did the food truck and catering all summer and that was awesome, you know? You get to meet new people and everything, but home is where the heart is. I have a lot of regulars here that I’ve gotten the chance to see today that I haven’t seen in a few months, and that’s a good feeling.”
With Jimmy Z’s opening back up in town, Zisovski himself had some appreciation to share on Facebook, which was met with an overwhelming amount of support.
“Thank you to every single person that waited in line yesterday. Thank you to our veteran staff for coming back and making this happen. Thank you Anthony and Chuck for doing everything it took to get the doors open again. We’re BACK!!!”
