The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
From deli to fine dining
‘This is what I wanted to put my energy into,’ says owner of new J. Carvers
Having successfully operated Michael’s Deli in Cheshire for 16 years, it would have been very easy for Michael Gould to rest on his laurels and continue running the business until he was ready to retire.
Instead, Gould decided not to play it safe, opting to open up a full-service restaurant in the midst of a pandemic.
So he sold the Cheshire business earlier this month and now is working to open his new venture, J. Carvers, at 179 Center St. before the end of March.
“It has always been a dream of mine to operate a full-service restaurant,” said Gould, who is turning 60. “A good restaurant will always get business. I love Wallingford and this is what I wanted to put my energy into.”
Gould and his family are now in the midst of converting the former Jake’s Martini Bar into more intimate setting. With about 3,000 square feet, Gould figures he can seat about 50 people initially “without people feeling as though they are sitting on top of each other.”
Gould’s son, Michael Jr., described the new eatery as “a modern American restaurant with Italian influences.” J. Carvers also will have a chop house menu featuring different types of steaks and pork chops, he said.
Michael Gould Jr. is no stranger to the space that he and his father are making over, having worked three different stints at Jake’s, which opened in 2007 and quietly closed earlier this year.
While the focus at Jake’s was on live music and martinis — fitting for a building that predates Prohibition — J. Carvers will have a decidedly more low-key focus, according to the elder Gould.
“We’re getting away from entertainment, the latenight crowd,” he said.
Gould said he plans to work another five to seven years before turning over ownership of the restaurant to his son.
Town officials are enthused how quickly the new restaurant is opening, filling the void left by Jake’s.
“I’m very enthusiastic about this because it shows what a dining destination our downtown has become,” said Tim Ryan, Wallingford’s economic development specialist. “They should do very well because they’ve found a niche that no other restaurant in the area has.”