Cliff Buchan
News EditorDiners who long for the days of Dona Leís Cafe and My Place take heart. A family-style restaurant has returned to Forest Lakeís downtown.
The Jelly Jar Cafe opened for business at 59 S. Lake St. on Monday, Feb. 2.
For owners Chance Norby, Steve Bizza and Chris Hoyt, the Jelly Jar Cafe will fill a void left in the downtown when the two former family restaurants were eliminated by redevelopment that brought Park Place to Forest Lake.
The partners purchased the 8000-square foot complex adjacent to the Upperdeck building last March. Their initial goal was to remodel the building for lease but the need for a downtown cafe soon led to plans for the Jelly Jar Cafe.
ìForest Lake needs something like this,î Norby said.
The Jelly Jar Cafe is operating in 2600 square feet of street-side space and provides seating for 99 customers. A party-meeting room can hold 40 for special gatherings.
In opening the cafe, the partners were able to draw off the restaurant expertise of former employees who were on the job market. Three former Dona Leís employees have come on board, including Dana Long as general manager.
She directs a staff of 16 that includes former employees from Forest Hills Golf Club in Forest Lake and the recently-closed North Branch Cafe.
In opening the Jelly Jar Cafe, the owners devised a menu with emphasis on family-priced breakfast and noon meals. Daily Jelly Jar specials are offered.
The cafe is open 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 7 to 2 on Sunday. The party room is available after regular business hours for meetings and gatherings.
The addition of the party room is a good one, the owners said.
So far, the Forest Lake Rotary Club is using the room for its Wednesday lunch meetings and BNI, a local business networking group, is meeting at the Jelly Jar on Tuesdays for a breakfast session.
The Jelly Jar Cafe is also Forest Lakeís first totally smoke free facility.
A grand opening is planned early in March.
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