Jumpin Java stays open with customers' help

When Chong Kim and his wife, Kwang, decided to close their Jumpin Java restaurant on Whittlesey Road, they called some of their regular customers to break the news.

Eileen Barrs heard the message on her answering machine and couldn't believe her ears.

"I hated to hear it and offered to do what I could to get business back through the door if they didn't close," Barrs said recently.

A couple of days later, Barrs asked the Kims for access to their Facebook page and began posting updates on the struggling Korean restaurant. She also arranged for her parents' 60th wedding anniversary to be held at the restaurant the Thursday before the scheduled Oct. 31 closing.

That evening, as the family celebrated the anniversary, Chong Kim removed the "Closing" sign from the restaurant's front door.

"I looked at him and said, "So does this mean you're going to try?" Barrs recalled. "And he said, 'Yes, we're going to try another month.'"

Now, two months later, Jumpin Java is still open and longtime customers continue to show their support by patronizing the business and teaching the Kims new recipes.

"Business picked up, they've been busier than they were before and things are lot better," said their son, Alfred, who spoke on behalf of his mostly Korean-speaking parents.

"Even if they end up closing, I think just the fact that they had so many people willing to help, that would give them closure."

Chong Kim, 58, and Kwang Kim, 55, migrated to the United States from Korea in the 1980s, their son said.

They first settled in Virginia, then moved to Columbus in 1996 to be near Chong Kim's older sister.

In 1997, the couple opened the Jumpin Java restaurant on River Road, across the street from River Road Elementary School.

In 2007, they moved the business to its current location, at 1694 Whittlesey Road, because of the development that was going on in the area.

The restaurant sits across the street from a Columbus Bank & Trust and Hollywood Connection. It's also in close proximity to Staybridge Suites Columbus-Fort Benning.

Alfred Kim said business grew through repeat customers.

But sales declined slowly as new restaurants opened in nearby Columbus Park Crossing.

Business has also been negatively impacted by the long-running Whittlesey Road widening project.

A median now exists in front of the restaurant, preventing customers from making a left turn into the parking lot.

However, Barrs said customers also can enter the business off of Whitesville Road.

She said many customers were upset when they heard the restaurant was closing and have been coming more regularly.

"They're a very popular place, people just like them," said Barrs, whose daughter swam on a swimming team with the Kims' daughter, Julie.

"Their clientele is mostly Junior League moms, Green Island bridge players, people like that. They have an upscale clientele but with all the construction and everything, what they told me was that business steadily declined after about three years, to the point where they were going to be closing down on the last day of October."

Favorites on the menu include sushi, chicken salad and spicy tuna, said customers who dined at the restaurant recently.

One long-time patron who has been trying to help save the business is Debby Jacobson, a retired professional chef.

She has been helping the Kims add new recipes to the menu, including popular casseroles that customers can order to go.

Jacobson said she has been patronizing the restaurant for 12 years and loves it because the couple makes everything from scratch.

"A few years ago, I helped them with some soup and the Asian chicken salad that they have here, so today we did Country Captain," said Jacobson, after one of the cooking sessions.

"I've been a regular customer for years and I love their spicy tuna. It's some of the best I've had anywhere."

Georgia Haywood said she has been eating at the restaurant ever since it was on River Road. She no longer lives near the restaurant, but she made a special trip to eat there.

"I came here on purpose tonight because I really missed it," she said. "I feel really comfortable here reading my book, and the soup is to die for."

Alva James-Johnson, 706-571-8521. Reach her on Facebook at AlvaJamesJohnsonLedger.

This story was originally published December 27, 2015 at 7:50 PM with the headline "Jumpin Java stays open with customers' help ."