Jax Remodel: Smooth Sailing, Reopening Jan. 18

by Andra Zeppelin Jan 8, 2013, 8:35am MST

Walk along 17th Avenue and as you pass Jax Fish House, you may feel like you are hearing voices. The restaurant, now closed and undergoing a massive remodel, has playfully installed motion-sensor speakers that stream onto the street the noise of dishes, pots, and kitchen banter, the clamor of a busy dining room, and the cries of seagulls by the sea. There are no seagulls or diners or cooks inside, but Jax wanted to keep passers-by interested and engaged while construction is pending.

What is happening with the construction? The dining room, pictured above, is no more. The restaurant has stripped down to a bare minimum after dinner service on New Year's Eve - some photos are included below. Large parts of the previously exposed brick have already been covered with white tile. The remodel plan extends the bar throughout the length of the dining room, doubles the number of bar seats, and features booths in an stadium-like set-up all around the perimeter of the space. The big red F in the photo gallery below? That seemed to be the only removable object that stayed put in the space - a shout-out to the Big Red F Restaurant Group that owns Jax.

The remodel schedule is on track and there are confident plans of reopening on weekend of January 18, with lunch service beginning on Monday, January 21.