The Barstool Fund - Jacks N Joe
Up next: Jacks N Joe (Los Angeles, CA)
Jacks N Joe serves breakfast as it should be: an all-day affair of gravity-defying pancake stacks, thick-cut French toast, and loaded hash browns. USC students and LA natives alike frequent this brick-walled, contemporary eatery for its standout food.
Reader Email
We opened our doors more than 10 years ago to honor the memory of our daughter who suddenly passed away at the age of 12. We were looking to completely change direction in our lives and decided to open Jacks N Joe- flapjacks and a cup of joe. Since opening, we have said "good morning" and have poured more coffee than we could have imagined. We are a home away from home for college students, a meeting place for our community, and a destination for tourists and everyone in between. We feed teachers, business people and athletes, some of whom have donated to the fund and encouraged us to apply. We are the perfect place for anyone seeking a little refuge in a big city like Los Angeles. We know your name and how you like your coffee. We are more than a restaurant, we are a family. Our staff are our family and customers become forever friends. Jacks N Joe is an extension of our home, a dining room that can seat everyone. We are the game day breakfast, the morning after necessity, the place for graduations and birthday celebrations, for first dates and coffee dates. We are located in between USC and downtown, and a 15 mile drive to anywhere. Jacks N Joe is in the center of L.A. With this pandemic, there is no center. There are no college games at the Coliseum, no games or concerts at The Staples Center or Banc of California stadium, no conventions downtown, or nobody headed to a Dodger game. The students have gone home and game days are without fans leaving us without many customers. We pivoted our business and implemented takeout only in the hope this would all pass within a few months. Then reality set in and we are now 11 months into this pandemic and California, especially Los Angeles, has been in a ban or restriction since March 15, 2020. The final blow to restaurants was the City of L.A. banning outdoor dining. We received a PPP in May 2020 and applied for EIDL in August, taking a loan on a business that never needed one. Our goal was to try and maintain as much of our staff as possible, the ones who have bills, rent and families. We started a GoFundme, and it has helped but these are all bandages on a gaping wound. We are doing at least 50% less business than we normally do. We love our restaurant and the family we've created and especially what we've been able to give back through donations and fundraising events. There's still so much more for us to do. We just need to be able to survive, and that's not only for our restaurant, but for our employees. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
