Posted 1:00 pm Sunday, July 26, 2009
In The Works: Customers Await Return Of Finn's Fried Zucchini
By BRIAN PEARSON
Business Editor
Dedra Finninger, like other customers, could not resist the fried zucchini.
Business Editor
Dedra Finninger, like other customers, could not resist the fried zucchini.
For years, she ate at J.W. Finn's restaurant so many times that she became longtime friends with the owner.
The restaurant closed about nine years ago, but the relationship grew between former owner and customer.
Three years ago, she and Jim "Finn" Finninger started dating. About three months ago, the two married.
Now, Jim Finninger is rekindling the restaurant known for its burgers, chicken sandwiches and, of course, fried zucchini.
Finninger said he will open a new J.W. Finn's on Wednesday. While the restaurant at 6011 S. Broadway Ave. will be smaller than his former eatery, it will have an expanded menu and a "salad station."
For example, there will be a Philly steak sandwich made from sliced ribeye and Cajun grilled shrimp for po-boys, main courses and salads.
BRINGING IT BACK: Jim Finniniger, owner of J.W. Finn’s, 6011 S. Broadway Ave., will start serving up his famous fried zucchini again Wednesday, as well as burgers and drinks.
Finninger said the salad-station concept is different from a salad bar in that customers place an order, and an employee custom makes the salad.
"The big new thing that nobody has done in this town is a salad station with a salad maker," Finninger said. "It's not a salad bar. It will have 40 or 50 items
"We'll have a guy who will custom make the salad for you. It's done in Dallas. But that's all they do: just salads."
Also new for J.W. Finn's will be how customers receive their food. At the former eatery, they ordered at a counter and then picked up their food when their name was called. Now, servers will bring food to the customers' tables.
Finninger, 52, has been in Tyler since 1984, moving here from Dallas, where he was in the restaurant business.
He was raised in Dallas and has a degree in food service management from the University of Arizona.
Finninger ran the old J.W. Finn's near the intersection of Troup Highway and Loop 323 from 1985 to 2000. He sold the building for personal reasons to another restaurateur, he said.
He also ran food booths at the East Texas State Fair until last year and operated a Finn's at the airport. In addition, he handled food service at the University of Texas at Tyler until about 2002.
Finninger also started On Edge, a knife-sharpening service, which he sold about two years ago but for which he still serves as a consultant.
At one time, his culinary endeavors employed about 125. The new restaurant will have about 25 workers.
He said he decided to launch another J.W. Finn's at the urging of longtime customers.
"People asked me about it two or three times a day," he said.
When he decided to open a new restaurant, Finninger launched a Web site and sent out an e-mail to customers.
The Web site, he said, received 1,800 hits in one day, and the inquiries have been steady ever since.
"People keep asking, 'Are you having the fried zucchini?'" he said. "We're definitely having the fried zucchini."
Like the other eatery, J.W. Finn's will have a bar stocked with beer, wine and mixed drinks. There will be 1950s and 1960s themes throughout, he said.
"It's a casual atmosphere," he said. "Our slogan is, 'Good times; great food.' We're excited. I missed it ever since I left."
Longtime J.W. Finn's fan Shane Payne said he also misses the old eatery.
Payne, 40, who owns an advertising video production company in Tyler, worked at a television station on Loop 323 from 1987 to 1996 and hit J.W. Finn's about two times weekly.
"The main reason was it was close and convenient," he said. "It also had good burgers."
Payne said he remembers the pinball machines as well as Halloween costume parties.
"People actually got dressed up for his parties," he said.
"And they were always crowded. It was a good hangout joint, and it was a good restaurant as well."
Ms. Finninger, 48, a medical assistant, said it was the atmosphere, in addition to the fried zucchini, that kept her coming back to the original J.W. Finn's. She plans to become a regular at the new eatery.
"It was always so much fun," Ms. Finninger recalled. "There was always a different crowd. I had my 36th birthday party there. Jim would always cook for us.
"It was a place to relax and to go meet after work."
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