Café in Longmont an ode to all things jack

LONGMONT — Quick —  how many uses are there of the word jack?

You might come up with two or three off the top of your head — you know, like the tool you use to lift a car, or maybe a flavor of cheese. But when you walk into Jacks Corner Café in Longmont, you quickly learn there are somewhere in the neighborhood of 150, and counting.

The owners have transformed the space that previously was home to Hunter’s (and later, Capers), into an ode to all things jack. You’ll find pictures on the walls of jackrabbits, jack-in-the-boxes, toy jacks. Shelves are lined with books that have “Jack” titles or authors.

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So the owner must be named Jack, right? Um, not exactly. Chris and Helena Engles did name the restaurant after their son, Jackson, though, when they opened their first location in Firestone about five years ago.

“We thought we would use a Jack Russell terrier as our mascot since it’s so cute,” Helena said. Then the couple started brainstorming other ideas, and were blown away by how many jacks they came up with. Now, she said, “It never ends. People are offering to bring things almost every day. People come in with things you haven’t thought of, and you think you’ve thought of everything.” When they weren’t able to renegotiate the lease on the Firestone location, they brought the concept — along with most of their staff — to Longmont.

The brain-teasing décor is just one reason to visit the restaurant, though. Open in its current location for about a year, the restaurant offers what Chris calls “handcrafted comfort food,” much of it with a southwestern flair. Helena, who creates the recipes and the menu, is most proud of her award-winning green chile, along with the chicken tinga, a dish of roasted chicken thighs, jalapenos, onions, tomatoes and chipotle peppers. You can eat it as an entrée, in a sandwich or on a salad. “It’s a little spicy, but it has an enormous amount of flavor,” she said.

So do the bison burgers, which are as juicy as you’ll find, and come in 10 different iterations, all served on a mouthwatering jalapeno-cheddar bun. “At least 80 percent of everything that comes out of the kitchen is hand-crafted,” Helena said. “It’s not organic, but we make our own sauces, and we make our meat dishes from scratch. We don t use any artificial ingredients.”

Though neither of the Engleses went to culinary school, they’ve both worked in restaurants since they were teenagers.

“We have expansive experience from the mom-and-pop side and the corporate side. We’ve learned a lot from very creative chefs we’ve worked with in the past, and from just experimenting.”

Something must be in their blood, because Jackson, who was 9 when the Firestone location opened, helped design the kids’ menu. Now 14, “He pretty much can do everything in the restaurant,” Helena said. “He understands the menu, he can tell you what’s in every plate, can input the information in the computer system.” Being a teenager, he has less of an interest now, “but he’s still quite capable and always a big help.”

The combination of food, family and ambiance seems to attract a good crowd. On the day we were there, we saw several groups of people in business attire, as well as friends gathering for a nice lunch. Which is exactly the way the Engleses want it. “We want to be that neighborhood spot where people can relax and have the comfort of a whole-foods cooked meal,” Helena said. But they also have a banquet room in the back for the corporate crowd. It seats 35 to 40, Helena said, and it has a. 42-inch plasma screen for presentations. If you can’t get away from the office for a meeting, Jacks also does catering and box lunches.

Prices can fit into most budgets, too. While Jacks may offer different things to different people, one thing is sure about a visit to the restaurant: You won’t get jacked.