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With the recent opening of Gio Taco downtown, local restaurateur Brian Metzger already has a lot on his plate, but he’s also opening another new restaurant (at La Paloma) at closing another. After five years in business, Jax Kitchen on Oracle near Ina will be closing its doors on Sunday, February 16. A weekish later on February 21, Poppy Kitchen will open at La Paloma.

According to a press release, Poppy, part of a super-expensive renovation at La Paloma, will feature “a fusion of the flavors and flair that have defined the Metzger experience, with influences from other Metzger concepts Jax Kitchen, The Abbey and Gio Taco” and will seat 160 in a space designed by FORS Architecture and Interiors featuring a “main dining room, private dining room, bar and large panoramic patio.”

On the Jax Kitchen front, the press release quotes Metzger:

“It’s a bittersweet moment to introduce something new and exciting while simultaneously saying goodbye to the one restaurant that started it all,” said Metzger. “We were facing the end of our lease period at Ina and Oracle, and spent a lot of time reflecting on what the future looked like for this company,” he continued, “and we decided that we needed to be more tightly focused on the company’s growth brands. We’ll forever celebrate the impact that Jax Kitchen had on our family and in this community.”

More info about the Jax closing and Poppy’s opening to come.

This article appears in Jan 16-22, 2014.

The editor of the Tucson Weekly. I have no idea how I got here.

8 replies on “Jax Kitchen to Close; Poppy Kitchen to Open at La Paloma”

  1. Jax- one of my favorite places “outside the river”, despite its Tucson-esque strip mall location. Great bar dining would have fit in well downtown.

  3. Jax was at the vanguard of the new dining scene in Tucson: casual, great cocktails, comfort food kicked up a notch or two. Sad to see it go; looking forward to Poppy.

  4. Never went there. Re: The Abbey – was never happy with that place. Food so-so, loud atmosphere. Took the group I was in for granted so we took our business elsewhere.

  6. Loved Jax from start to finish — only drawback was location, but went out of way to enjoy it. Don’t get any of the sniping. Tucson can only benefit from any place that has such good taste, know-how and dedication to gourmet food and drinks without snobbery or inflated prices. Good luck to Metzger family. We’ll see you at La Paloma!

  8. Any time I have been to The Abbey, I have enjoyed the food and had very helpful, knowledgeable and attentive staff.

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