{"65691":{"#nid":"65691","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Junior\u2019s Owner is Hoping for a Third \u2018Resurrection\u2019","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThis isn\u2019t the first time Junior\u2019s Grill has had to shut its doors, and owner Tommy Klemis is hopeful that it won\u2019t be the last. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAll I\u2019m asking for is for someone to help me find a way to keep Junior\u2019s going for another 37 years, so I can be around when we celebrate our 100-year anniversary,\u201d Klemis said. \u201cI would be a part of any initiative that gets us there.\u201d \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe campus favorite has a long history of being \u201cresurrected\u201d \u2014 as Klemis likes to say \u2014 which is why he is hoping for just one more miracle. The first resurrection came in the 1960s when Junior\u2019s moved from the corner of Techwood Drive and North Avenue to a location across from Smith Dormitory. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThen, in the 1990s, Junior\u2019s was demolished to make way for the 1996 Olympic Games. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cBut lo and behold \u2014 thanks to the students and alumni \u2014 we were resurrected again,\u201d Klemis said. \u201cWe were proclaimed a \u2018Tech tradition\u2019 and have been in our current location ever since.\u201d \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAbout three weeks ago, Klemis came to the conclusion that he couldn\u2019t afford to keep Junior\u2019s open. Today was the \u201cbreak-even\u201d day in terms of the restaurant\u2019s expenses and revenue, so his intention was to quietly close and make a formal announcement to the campus community. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cNow, my soft closing is history; I was really hoping this would be low-key,\u201d Klemis said. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs the news spread, Junior\u2019s was swamped with customers. Although he wanted to avoid the publicity that would come with a public closing, Klemis now thinks that the outpouring of support from Tech\u2019s community may be for the best. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThere\u2019s already talk among the Georgia Tech nation that there might be a way to resurrect Junior\u2019s,\u201d he said. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EKlemis has been an important member of the Tech family for most\n of his life, said Georgia Tech President G. P. \u201cBud\u201d Peterson.\u0026nbsp; \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cHis\n \nfather ran Junior\u2019s before him, and Tommy is also a Tech alumnus,\u0022 \nPeterson added. \u0022Through the way that he related to thousands of \nstudents, faculty, staff\n and alumni over the years he has become a cherished part of the \nJunior\u2019s tradition. We wish him all the best.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAfter the doors to Junior\u2019s close today at 2:30 p.m., Klemis said his first priority will be taking care of his employees and doing everything he can to help place them in new jobs.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThen, maybe I\u2019ll start a weekly card game with [former Junior\u2019s icon] Anne, or I would love to be a greeter at Chick-Fil-A,\u201d he said. \u201cBut even as the doors to Junior\u2019s close, there\u2019s always hope that it will come back. We\u2019ll just have to wait and see.\u201d\u0026nbsp; \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThis isn\u2019t the first time Junior\u2019s has had to shut its doors, and Tommy Klemis is hopeful that it won\u2019t be the last.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"This isn\u2019t the first time Junior\u2019s has had to shut its doors, and Tommy Klemis is hopeful that it won\u2019t be the last."}],"uid":"27445","created_gmt":"2011-04-21 09:57:42","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:08:06","author":"Amelia Pavlik","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-04-21T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2011-04-21T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"65692":{"id":"65692","type":"image","title":"Junior\u0027s Grill","body":null,"created":"1449176863","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:07:43","changed":"1475894582","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:43:02","alt":"Junior\u0027s Grill","file":{"fid":"193255","name":"Junior\u0027s_II.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Junior%27s_II.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Junior%27s_II.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":516057,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Junior%27s_II.jpg?itok=tJ4y7ni0"}}},"media_ids":["65692"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.juniors.gatech.edu\/Pages\/default.aspx","title":"Junior\u0027s Grill"}],"groups":[{"id":"1183","name":"Home"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"7156","name":"closing"},{"id":"8112","name":"Junior\u0027s Grill"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:amelia.pavlik@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EAmelia Pavlik\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ECommunications \u0026amp; Marketing\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-385-4142\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}