The long wait is over for J&G guests. Construction is complete. The kitchen is larger, new ovens are working, the temporary menu is gone, and pizza is back!
Following a long summer of construction, the J&G kitchen is up and running. The larger work space allows for more efficiency. While the kitchen area has been enlarged, the pizza making process still remains front and center in the Main Street window. The new oven is nearly double in size, providing room for more pizzas to be baked at the same time. Additional food preparation has also been moved to the new kitchen space.
The waiting area for pick-up orders has been reduced somewhat to accommodate the enlarged kitchen, however the original dining room space remains the same. J&G patrons can take delight in the fact that the restaurant decor remains the same from the wallpaper to the orange vinyl-covered booths.
Patrons will find an extended menu including the smash burger and an array of appetizers along with the traditional J&G favorites. A full complement of cocktails and wines are available accompanying the Upside Brewing selections, along with other local and regional craft beers.
Both J&G and the Taproom are open Monday through Wednesday from 4 to 10 pm, and open for lunch Thursday through Sunday at 11 am. The restaurant closes Thursday at 11 pm, Friday and Saturday, midnight and Sunday, 10 pm.
The popular downtown eatery was orginally opened by Jim and Georgia Kalaharis in the fall of 1971. It soon became a favorite spot for area junior high and high school students after football games as well as an adult crowd every night of the week.
In 1973, a young Mark Dallas started working in the restaurant industry. After being employed by several other eateries, he and his father Pandelis Dallas offered to buy J&G Pizza from Kalaharis. The younger Dallas began working in the restaurant in 1978 to prepare for ownership and the sale was complete in 1979. Through the years very little has changed. “I tweaked the recipes a bit in the early days,” Mark Dallas admitted. “But, for the most part, our menu remains the same.”
That menu includes a thin crust pizza with options for a variety of traditional pizza toppings; Gyros featuring beef and lamb may be purchased as a sandwich or platter; chicken, steak, or lamb shish kabobs are available; spaghetti is offered in small and large sizes; and small and large Greek or tossed salads are also available. Diners may top their meal off with baklava or cheesecake for dessert.
Mark’s son Nick Dallas grew up at J&G Pizza Palace and began working in his dad’s restaurant at an early age. While he and his wife, Melissa, continue to be involved and work regularly behind the J&G counter, nine years ago they introduced Upside Brewing and made their first pour on Sept. 14, 2016.
Dallas had been home brewing for family and friends for a few years. It was a fun hobby, and then he became more serious and began brewing at his family’s business, which eventually turned J&G’s into also being a brewpub. He and his wife are both very involved in the brewing process.
J&G Pizza Palace, 5692 N. Main  St., is in a building constructed in 1907 and has been home to a dog shop, multiple beauty salons, drug stores and a dry goods store in the past. Dallas Taproom in the adjacent building at 5694 N. Main St. was home to Western Auto Associate Store, McIlwain Antiques, Sylvania Paper Cellar Decorating Center, Kevin Charles Salon, and California Yoga.
From 1865 to 1889, Dr. Thomas T. and Harriett Cosgrove lived in a home with an attached physician’s office on the corner property. George and Anna Lovewell owned the property from 1889 to 1907. A 1903 article in the Toledo Critic newspaper said, “Frank Koepfer has leased the George Lovewell buildings, selling farming implements of the most improved kind.”
The Sylvania Savings Bank purchased the property in 1907 and demolished the structures to construct the current two-story building. The bank occupied the north side, while renting the south side of the building, the basement, and the second floor. In 1940 the Sylvania Savings Bank merged with the Farmers and Merchants Bank and moved to the building where Key Bank is located today at 5604 Main St. They bank sold the building in 1940 to Murl E. Boyd. Then Ardis A. Moyer acquired the building in 1966 and in 1968 sold to Robert and Sue Yee.  In 2000 the building was transferred to Damon and Deborah Yee, and in 2003 transferred into the name of Yee Properties LLC., the current owner.