Trader Joe’s wasn’t the only one on Lower Greenville excited about its grand opening on Friday. There was a lot of activity along the bustling street this weekend, and everyone I talked with was all smiles about the new Trader Joe’s — and the fresh wave of business it will likely bring them.
Matt Pikar, the owner of Nora Restaurant and Bar, says he and his wife, Rosalind Lynam, are excited about Trader Joe’s opening. They’ve been on Lower Greenville about a year and have been thinking about opening for lunch. Now, with the increase of day-time traffic, it seems like the perfect time, he says.
They’re also expanding the restaurant with a new private dining area to the side, and — the best part — a new rooftop dining area, which should be opening around the end of this month. I don’t know about you, but I’m definitely going to have to try that out once it’s completed.
In other Greenville news, Company Cafe is moving from their old location at 2217 Greenville across from the Walmart, but they’re not moving far. They’re going to be just down the street, across from Trader Joe’s instead. The old location just didn’t have enough parking, says Zoia Berg. The new space (pictured below) is bigger and has access to a back parking lot. They’re set to open this Friday.
Down the street, a restaurant called JO24 opened in place of the Jack’s Southern Comfort, which closed in that location on July 28 in search of greener pastures. JO24 is a concept brought to us by Naina Srirathakul, who is also the creator of Royal Cuisine. From the looks of the menu, it’s mostly American food with things like bacon and eggs for breakfast, hamburgers and chicken in dumplings for lunch. Their hours are 11 a.m. to midnight on weekdays and 8 a.m. to midnight on weekends.
Speaking of Royal Cuisine, Srirathakul says she’s also building a second location, and it’ll be right next door to the new JO24 on Lower Greenville. This restaurant will be a similar concept to the Royal Cuisine on Forest, she says.
