Food for all ages at Jersey’s

Three spots are empty in the glass display case hanging near the entryway of Jersey’s Great Food and Spirits in Shoreline.

Maybe someday, the restaurant’s owner and collector of sports memorabilia, Brian Patneaude, will add three signed baseballs by homerun kings Jimmie Foxx, Mel Ott and Babe Ruth to his collection. Until that time, those who dine at Jersey’s can look at his assortment of signed jerseys, helmets, baseballs and footballs while they enjoy breakfast, lunch or dinner at the new restaurant.

Patneaude’s love for sports and good food combined after he and his wife, Theodora Wright, purchased GT’s Bar and Grill on North 175th Street in August 2005. When their business closed in February to make room for the new city hall, the couple opened another restaurant in April.

“When the city gave us the boot to build the new city hall it made sense for us to do what we actually wanted to do (at GT’s),” Patneaude said.

What they wanted, according to Patneaude and Wright, was to own a neighborhood restaurant that appealed to families, diners, and wine and beer drinkers alike. They believe Jersey’s Great Food and Spirits, 1306 North 175th Street, is exactly that kind of a place.

“We want to be a destination dining place for the city of Shoreline because our food, I believe, is so good and there are not really a lot of nice restaurants in Shoreline,” Wright said.

Jersey’s is divided into two sections. One half features a full service bar with 16 different beers on tap, pull tabs, and darts. While the other half is set for family dining with 13 tables. Ten flat screen televisions and various sports memorabilia hang on the walls throughout the restaurant.

Although some come for the atmosphere, the couple is sure their customers will stay and return for the food.

“What’s special about the food here is because Brian was a chef with Restaurants Unlimited, everything’s made in house,” Wright said. “The French fries are made from real hand cut potatoes and all our sauces are made here.”

Patneaude and Wright met in 1996 while he worked as a cook and she worked as a server at Scott’s Bar and Grill in Edmonds. Patneaude moved to San Francisco four years later but returned to the area when he and Patneaude decided to get married. Before purchasing GT’s, Patneaude continued working as a chef in several restaurants including, Palisade Restaurant in Seattle.

“I’ve been in the restaurant business all of my life,” Patneaude said.

The couple believes the food served at their new restaurant is unique and appealing to all ages.

Their five-year old son, Wyatt, and three-year-old daughter, Evelyn, agree. The menus for children feature some of their favorite meals including mini cheeseburgers and scrambled eggs and fries. The “Little Grown-up Plate” features a choice of grilled chicken, salmon, or steak.

“Our kids usually eat something like salmon or steak and one thing that drove me crazy was going out to a restaurant with kids and seeing macaroni and cheese and chicken fingers,” Wright said. “My kids don’t eat that stuff … And it didn’t seem right to feed kids processed stuff just because they’re kids.”

Popular selections from the main menu include the bacon cheeseburger and the chipotle burger dip, according to Wright. But those who may not be in the mood for a burger can also choose from pizza, jambalaya fettuccini, seafood linguini, yaki soba, and teriyaki glazed chicken, among other dishes. Breakfast selections are available from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Soon, Jersey’s customers can expect new outdoor seating, according to Wright and possibly a light breakfast selection of menu items to pair with lattes and specialty coffee drinks served throughout the week.

“We’ve been spending most of our time trying to get up and running,” Patneaude said.

But even with the stress of starting a new restaurant, business has doubled since Jersey’s opened last month, he added.

“Our main focus has been on filling the dining room,” he said. “We’re bringing in a totally different clientele — more wine drinkers, more food eaters, more kids — and offering more of the dining experience.”