It’s a long way from Italy to China, but Jr’s Original in Winooski is going to make the trip. Next month, the restaurant at 348 Main Street will switch cuisines and become Jr’s Original Peking Duck House. The restaurant’s second location, Jr’s Williston, will continue to serve Italian and Italian American dishes.
The new menu in Winooski will feature Cantonese-style dishes such as crispy pork belly and stir-fried curry rice noodles, owner Bogdan Andreescu told Seven Days. The restaurant will also offer traditional whole-roasted Peking duck. (Jr’s Original Peking Duck House is not affiliated with the former Peking Duck House in Winooski, which closed in 2014.)
Chefs Ryan Brigante and Ron Martin previously worked at South Burlington’s Silver Palace and have a combined 40 years of experience cooking Chinese and pan-Asian cuisine, Andreescu said.
“They’ll be cooking nice, fresh ingredients right in front of you in the open kitchen,” he added.
Jr’s Original is currently closed for a brief renovation; the Winooski restaurant will reopen with its new name and menu on July 11. It will be open daily for dinner, with on-site dining and a full bar, as well as takeout and delivery via Grubhub.
A planned expansion at Jr’s Williston — to add an attached sports bar with an arcade room called the Sidebar — will open on August 1.
“Besides Italian and pizza, Chinese is the second-biggest takeout food,” Andreescu said. “I’m trying to give my customers the opportunity to come see me twice a week.”
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This article appears in The Cartoon Issue 2022.
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