Jacksonville Inn restaurant shuts down, owners looking to lease it out

JACKSONVILLE, Ore. – The Jacksonville Inn has been known for it’s dining experience for decades.

But it recently announced the restaurant will be shutting down.

Many came to the Jacksonville Inn’s restaurant on special occasions such as anniversaries and birthdays.

But as of Friday, the owners announced it will no longer have a dining service.

The hotel’s former manager, Platon Mantheakis, who was there 35 years, believes it was a difficult business decision.

“It’s sad to see something like this happen,” Mantheakis said. “There are a lot of other restaurants that have re-purposed themselves which is what this is.”

Jerry Evans, who owned the Jacksonville Inn for 45 years, sold it in 2021 to the Adlo Group.

It’s made up of four longstanding Southern Oregon residents.

One of the owners, Jeremy Leever, declined to go on camera for an interview.

But provided a statement, that reads: 

We had to make the difficult decision to shut down dinner service due to the many challenging economic headwinds this industry is currently facing. It is not something we took lightly, and as soon as we finalized this decision we notified our staff immediately.

We will continue to offer lunch service in our newly renovated wine bar, and we plan to continue renovations of the property. We have already been approached by some renowned restauranteurs who we are in serious discussions with. We are hopeful that these conversations will lead to the restaurant reemerging in the near future to offer an exciting new dining experience.

Jacksonville Inn gift cards will still be accepted in our wine bar. We appreciate the community’s patience and understanding as we go through this transition.

Now, there is a collaborative effort to find jobs for those who worked at the restaurant. 

“One of the owners called me to let me know what they were doing, to give me a heads up,” Mantheakis said. “I started to get in touch with friends of mine in the industry and found them jobs because I know those three people really well.”

Leever said the rest of the inn will remain open and they will continue to offer food service at their wine bar.

They also plan to lease out the restaurant in the future.

Leever tells NBC5 they have been approached by some renowned restaurateurs who they are in serious discussions with.

Jason Robison, the owner of  The Crown Jewel, a jewelry shop next to the Jacksonville Inn, said offering to lease the restaurant, may actually be a good thing.

“I think of a come up with a creative new tenant for the restaurant or a new chef, something like that, I think things could be fantastic there,” he said. “But I know the initial shock of it is hard for people to hear.”

Leever said there’s no timeline for when the restaurant could be leased.

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NBC5 News reporter Zachary Larsen grew up in Surprise, Arizona. He graduated from Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism. At ASU, Zack interned at Arizona Sports 98.7FM and Softball America. During his Junior year, Zack joined the ASU Sports Bureau. He covered the Fiesta Bowl, the Phoenix Open and major basketball tournaments. Zack enjoys working out, creative writing, music, and rooting for his ASU Sun Devils.
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