View of the Lakewood Jack in the Box in 1975 in a WFAA newscast. Screenshot courtesy of YouTube video “1975 Lakewood Updates in Dallas” from channel SMU Jones Film — The G. William Jones Film & Video Collection, part of the Southern Methodist University libraries.
Lakewood Jack in the Box fans, it may take a while for you to resume picking up the fast food chain’s signature tacos, stuffed jalapeños and Sourdough Jack sandwiches. Jack in the Box on Gaston Avenue is getting a facelift.
Most of the fast-food restaurant’s structure was torn down and is being rebuilt. The drive-thru is expected to be covered to protect customers from inclement weather.
“We’ve been blessed to have amazing customers and employees within the area,” says Yasin Choudry, operations director for Tribox (the company that owns the store and collaborates with Jack in the Box). “With this renovation at Jack, we are hoping to continue our long standing relationship with the Lakewood community for decades to come.”
The construction started this summer. It would be ideal if the work could get done in 90 days, but Choudry suspects that it will take longer. The timeline is dependent on the weather and the supply chain, the latter of which has been affected by tariffs that have hampered access to equipment for the project. When the work is finished, the store’s leaders will have to comply with the City of Dallas rules before opening and get fully staffed. In all, the process may take about four months before Jack in the Box opens again.
That Jack in Box in our neighborhood has been there since the late 1960s, says Chris Aslam, one of Tribox’s owners.
“Out of all of our restaurants, this is the one I hear the most stories from people, growing up in the neighborhood, how they went there when they were younger,” as well as visiting the Jack in the Box late at night, Aslam says. “There’s a lot of history into the community around the store.”
The first Jack in the Box opened in San Diego in 1951, so next year will be the fast-food chain’s 75th anniversary. The Lakewood 
store will be celebrating this milestone when it reopens with a little nostalgia.
“Back in the day, we used to have an old clown head that you could talk to on the menu boards, and it was kind of sitting on the box menu, and we actually have one of the old ones, original ones from the store,” Aslam says. “We’re working on seeing if we can open up with that original.”
The first day or two after reopening may also feature “throwback prices” on food, so customers can have an idea on how much people paid for Jack in the Box meals in the 1960s.
Screenshot of old Jack in the Box menu clown from Reddit.
