A rendering of the building that Jack’s will occupy in Lone Tree. (Courtesy photo)
Call it a pair of jacks.
The owner of Jack’s on Pearl in Platt Park is going for two with Jack’s at Lone Tree.
Steve Lockton bought the 1.25-acre site at 9155 Park Meadows Drive for $3.1 million a year-and-a-half ago. He plans to start construction on a two-story, 5,700-square-foot building in May.
“There’s a need in Lone Tree for a family-owned, high-end American restaurant and steakhouse,” he said. “We also felt like that site gave a lot of access to people from the east, west and south side of town.”
The first floor of the building will be an event space while the second story will be the main restaurant. Lockton said the restaurant itself will serve the same fan-favorite items as the Platt Park location but will have an “international flair.”
Steve Lockton
The 57-year-old Lockton, who is also an executive at his family’s insurance business Lockton Cos., originally opened Jack’s in Uptown in 2018. He moved to Platt Park in 2021 after buying the former Tavern Platt Park real estate at 1475 S. Pearl St. from restaurateur Frank Schultz.
The restaurant is named after and an homage to Lockton’s father, who died 20 years ago and believed in “great dining, great steak and great wine.”
“I wanted to build a place that he would love to go to,” he said.
Lockton said Lone Tree felt like a natural fit for the restaurant to expand to because patrons already travel from the suburbs to Jack’s in Platt Park.
He wanted to own his real estate and develop the building from scratch.
“It gives us more control in our future,” Lockton said. “The future of Pearl Street is very bright. I see tremendous growth and excitement in Lone Tree. We want to feel like we’re a part of the community and you do that by owning the ground.
“The current restaurant is somewhat constricted in regards to seating and parking, so we feel like building our own restaurant and having our own parking is going to serve our clientele much better.”
The property was previously home to Mimi’s Cafe, a chain French-American restaurant that closed in 2021 and was demolished last year.
Lockton said he’s still shaking out some new ideas for Jack’s at Lone Tree, like maybe adding a speakeasy or a cigar lounge. But he said customers can expect the same quality food.
“We just try to do things better and differently than you’ve ever had them, that’s what we call the Jack’s way,” Lockton said.
A rendering of the building that Jack’s will occupy in Lone Tree. (Courtesy photo)
Call it a pair of jacks.
The owner of Jack’s on Pearl in Platt Park is going for two with Jack’s at Lone Tree.
Steve Lockton bought the 1.25-acre site at 9155 Park Meadows Drive for $3.1 million a year-and-a-half ago. He plans to start construction on a two-story, 5,700-square-foot building in May.
“There’s a need in Lone Tree for a family-owned, high-end American restaurant and steakhouse,” he said. “We also felt like that site gave a lot of access to people from the east, west and south side of town.”
The first floor of the building will be an event space while the second story will be the main restaurant. Lockton said the restaurant itself will serve the same fan-favorite items as the Platt Park location but will have an “international flair.”
Steve Lockton
The 57-year-old Lockton, who is also an executive at his family’s insurance business Lockton Cos., originally opened Jack’s in Uptown in 2018. He moved to Platt Park in 2021 after buying the former Tavern Platt Park real estate at 1475 S. Pearl St. from restaurateur Frank Schultz.
The restaurant is named after and an homage to Lockton’s father, who died 20 years ago and believed in “great dining, great steak and great wine.”
“I wanted to build a place that he would love to go to,” he said.
Lockton said Lone Tree felt like a natural fit for the restaurant to expand to because patrons already travel from the suburbs to Jack’s in Platt Park.
He wanted to own his real estate and develop the building from scratch.
“It gives us more control in our future,” Lockton said. “The future of Pearl Street is very bright. I see tremendous growth and excitement in Lone Tree. We want to feel like we’re a part of the community and you do that by owning the ground.
“The current restaurant is somewhat constricted in regards to seating and parking, so we feel like building our own restaurant and having our own parking is going to serve our clientele much better.”
The property was previously home to Mimi’s Cafe, a chain French-American restaurant that closed in 2021 and was demolished last year.
Lockton said he’s still shaking out some new ideas for Jack’s at Lone Tree, like maybe adding a speakeasy or a cigar lounge. But he said customers can expect the same quality food.
“We just try to do things better and differently than you’ve ever had them, that’s what we call the Jack’s way,” Lockton said.
