City Hall yesterday approved the variance that will allow Jonathon's Oak Cliff to expand its kitchen. Now a small zoning approval regarding an expanded parking requirement is all that stands between hungry brunchers and some crazy new waffles.
Co-owner and chef Jonathon Erdeljac says months of planning should expedite the project that will increase the size of his kitchen by more than 400 square feet. "We started this process back in November," Erdeljac said, noting the restaurant has continued to expand sales the entire time, taxing his tiny kitchen even more. He's hoping work will start in the next week or two and be completed by the end of July.
Fans of the restaurant shouldn't notice any changes as the build-out moves forward. Erdeljac says the addition will be built independent of the current kitchen and he hopes the wall can be removed and the two kitchens linked without interrupting normal business hours.
What customers will notice, however, are a lot more waffles. The current kitchen only has room for two waffle irons but the new space will include five. The increased capacity has the chef dreaming up an arsenal of high-caloric gut bombs including a bacon-stuffed waffle called the "all in one" that will be topped with a scramble of eggs, sausage and cheese with a Sriracha drizzle to finish.
Did you hear that, hangovers? I said a bacon-stuffed waffle topped with a scramble of eggs, sausage and cheese with a Sriracha drizzle to finish.
Erdeljac also sounds pretty excited for the new walk-in refrigerator that will replace the two reach-ins he currently has stationed under a counter. "I am the only chef that buys celery three stalks at a time," he said as he bemoaned his tiny kitchen. "Most chefs buy celery by the case."
