Plaza Grill Restaurant Reopening in Arcata

Post reshared with the gracious permission of Mad River Union:

Plaza Grill, the iconic Jacoby’s Storehouse restaurant which closed in October, 2024, is re-opening. Its first night serving familiar Plaza Grill menu fare will be Wednesday, April 8.

While “a work in progress,” said proprietor Bill Chino, the restored Plaza Grill may be open Wednesdays through Saturdays from 5 to 8 p.m., with a nightly Happy Hour and menu special. You could even see – at least at first – a bright and shiny Bill greeting you at the door, just like in the olden days.

The Storehouse’s third floor has been occupied by the restaurant Havana until a few weeks ago, when the Cuban-Arcatan fusion spot closed.

At that point, Chino said, a group of former Plaza Grill employees approached him asking if they could bring back the beloved Arcata eatery.

Conversations began, and presently, Chino and the staff are firming up plans for the classic downtown dining spot to return in updated form, adapting to the times. The business model is being restructured, as is the menu. The focus now is on affordability and quick service, while retaining the PG experience.

Bill Chino in 2024. Photo via Arcata Chamber of Commerce

“It will be a little different this time around,” Chino said. “I will retain ownership of the bar. The kitchen will be a separate entity. So we’ll probably have dual ordering, similar to what lots of restaurants are doing now. There’s a possibility you may have to go to the bar to order, and then your drinks will be delivered, and you will also order your food at a counter. But it will be delivered to your table.”

The menu, he said, will be “condensed” – a subset of the prior offerings. That helps keep costs reasonable. “We’re trying to streamline the process,’ Chino said. ”We’re trying to serve it fast and keep the price down.”

At first, the menu will include all the main dishes patrons will remember – shepherd’s pie, meatloaf, Aglio e Olio, Cobb salad, Abruzzi dressing, and yes, a burger – “probably a smash burger at this point,” Chino said. Apart from that, he said, “we’re using all the original recipes.”

During the initial reopening period, the restaurant will take comments from the community as to what they’d like to see on the menu, and then shape it accordingly.

“They’re going to start off easy,” Chino said of the restaurant staff. “We’re trying to make it a meeting place for the community, staying extremely competitive on price so families can afford it. You can’t have meatloaf for $39, you know? So we’re shooting for as inexpensive as we can possibly do it.”

“I think it’ll be fun,” Chino said. “We’ll make it work.”