Two popular restaurants are merging: what to know about the new Templeton Café & Pub

It’s the end of an era in East Templeton, but also the beginning of a beautiful friendship between two popular local eateries.

The owners of JK Crossroads recently sold the establishment to John Buckley who, along with his wife Cherie, owns the Country Café, which opened as the Hen House in 2021. Buckley, who recently sold the Gardner Hen House location, said he had been looking for a permanent home for the Country Café when he decided that JK Crossroads, which is located just down the street at 119 Patriots Road, would be a perfect fit.

Buckley said he and JK Crossroads owner Tom O’Brien started negotiations for the possible sale of the location several months ago.

“I knew Tom and I’m a regular customer, and I thought there might be an opportunity here so I checked with Tom to see if he was interested,” Buckley explained, adding that the deal had been finalized on Jan. 12. “We’re going to bring the best of both worlds together – the Country Café breakfast and lunch diner and the JK Crossroads dinner – and create one restaurant with a permanent home.”

The new 72-seat, full-service establishment will be known as the Templeton Café and Pub, Buckley said.

“The (JK Crossroads) building was remodeled about 15 years ago, it has a real nice look, and the building itself has a lot of history – it used to be Olsen’s many years ago,” he said. “So, we’re going to spruce it up with new furniture – tables, chairs, and everything - and new equipment.”

More: JK Crossroads is not the first landmark restaurant to inhabit this East Templeton location

Response to the restaurant merger had been overwhelmingly positive, Buckley added.

“Based on our initial feedback, the customers really like the idea of the restaurant and the menu – we’ve gotten lots of good feedback from the patrons of both locations, as well as from some of the other businesses in town,” he said.

The new menu will include traditional breakfast offerings and pub-style food combined with daily dinner entrée specials that the customers of JK Crossroads were used to enjoying, Buckley explained.

“Customers can look forward to freshly-made, from scratch, menu items and an upbeat atmosphere,” he said. “We’re here to serve the community and provide the customers with what they want, and we’ll continue to do things like sponsor teams and scholarships as we’ve always done.”

The lottery license has been approved for the new establishment, and its liquor license was pending approval, Buckley said, and was expected to be in full effect by the time the restaurant opened.

Staff members eager to join forces

The combined staff of the two establishments – about 20 employees in all – will join forces to create a unique dining experience at the Templeton Café and Pub. Buckley said all employees would retain their jobs at the new restaurant.

“Everybody’s staying,” he said.

“I am excited to part of something where two teams from different places are working together to create something new and special for our community,” said Alisha Fontaine, breakfast manager.

Krista Richard, who has worked as the lead evening waitress at JK Crossroads since it first opened 13 years ago, said she was excited to work with new staff members.

“The JK Crossroads team looks forward to working with our colleagues and are excited for the future of the combined restaurant operations,” she said.

Alisha Goguen, who previously worked for Buckley at the Gardner Hen House, has signed on to be the beverage manager at the new establishment.

“I’m very excited we are all working together to create a better dining experience for our customers, the public that we serve,” she said.

Buckley said he was grateful to have the dedicated staff members from both restaurants working together at the Templeton Café and Pub.

“I think we’re going to meld together perfectly,” he said.

Timeline

Here are the key dates customers should be aware of as the two establishments complete their merger over the next few weeks.

The current JK Crossroads location will be closed between Jan. 22 and Jan. 31 while crews renovate the interior and bring in new furniture and kitchen equipment. The establishment will open on Feb. 1 for breakfast and lunch only, according to Buckley.

The Country Café location, meanwhile, will continue to operate breakfast and lunch through Jan. 28 before closing and moving its operations to the new restaurant.

The Templeton Café and Pub will open for dinner on Feb. 2 and Feb. 3 by invitation only, Buckley said. The soft opening will allow staff members to work out any kinks with the new menu, implement a new point-of-sale system, and solicit feedback from invited customers. The new restaurant’s full opening is scheduled for Feb. 4.

This article originally appeared on Gardner News: JK Crossroads, Country Cafe merge to establish Templeton Cafe and Pub