Blue Ribbon Grill and Jenovelle Cafe & Market open in North Hills Shopping Center

Blue Ribbon Grill, a beloved Tucker comfort food destination, had its long-awaited grand re-opening at North Hills Shopping Center on Dec.17.

Added to the mix is an adjoining restaurant – a European breakfast and lunch bistro called Jenovelle Cafe & Market. 

Blue Ribbon Grill – which has been in operation since 1985 under multiple owners, including the late radio personality Ludlow Porch – closed in February after Jennifer and Eric Greene found the rising rent and poor conditions at its former location to be untenable.

Both restaurants are now located on Chamblee Tucker Road in the North Hills Shopping Center in the same complex that houses Big Lots. 

At a ribbon-cutting ceremony orchestrated by the DeKalb Chamber of Commerce, Jennifer Greene said the move allowed the couple to start a new chapter, with an updated look and menu that still includes customer favorites like meatloaf, French onion soup, and fried fish.

The idea behind Jenovelle came long before the couple bought Blue Ribbon Grill four years ago. 

“We had the concept of Jenovelle in 2019, but we couldn’t get financing because of Covid,” Greene said. “Then we found the Blue Ribbon Grill was for sale, so we put Jenovelle on hold.”

Rent at the original location of Blue Ribbon Grill on LaVista Road continued to rise during the years that the Greenes owned it. Upkeep of the aging facility was also a factor in its closing.

Related link: More stories from the Tucker Reporter

An extensive search around Tucker, where the couple wanted to stay, proved fruitless. But in April, the Greenes finally found a space to house both restaurants just north of the Blue Ribbon Grill’s former location.

Jenovelle, which will be open for breakfast and lunch, will serve “the best food Europe has to offer,” Greene said. “We will close at 2 p.m. but then reopen after 4 p.m. to sell take-home meals, complete with cooking instructions.”

In addition to European-inspired cuisine, Jenovelle has imported gifts and food items for sale, like honey made in Spain, British chocolates, and “curated-by-Jen” custom gifts that feature one-of-a-kind treasures.

Blue Ribbon Grill will offer breakfast, lunch, and dinner and include extended weekend hours, similar to other tenants in the shopping center, like Hookah Coffee Planet, that have a nightlife presence. 

And Greene expects the restaurant’s liquor license to come in next week.

“We could have waited or had a soft opening, but at this point, after all the work, we just decided to run with it,” she said. “It’s a relief, really, to just open the doors.”

Blue Ribbon Grill and Jenovelle Cafe & Market, 3352 Chamblee Tucker Road.

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