After 15 years, J. Betski’s ends its run in Raleigh. But the owners have new plans
J. Betski’s, one of the few restaurants in the Triangle serving German and Polish cuisine, will close later this month after 15 years in Raleigh’s Seaboard Station.
The restaurant owned by John and Katherine Korzekwinski plans to close Aug. 23.
But it’s not retirement, as the owners plan a move and a new concept opening later this year.
“We’re sad to see this go,” John Korzewkinski said. “But once we walk in the new place we’ll forge a new path that hopefully will last another 10 or 20 years.”
The move is largely driven by the remaking of Seaboard Station, Korzekwinski said, which is seeing massive redevelopment along Peace Street.
The more casual JB’s
The J. Betski’s owners plan to open a more casual concept this fall in Raleigh’s High Park Village off of Whitaker Mill Road, about 2 1/2 miles from the current location.
Instead of moving with the name, the new concept will be called JB’s, a nickname Korzekwinski said evokes the more casual aim.
“It will serve similar cuisine, but as a new modernized version,” Korzekwinski said. “It should be exciting. Small plates, grab and go, this is the way people are dining now. We hope to have a little something for everyone.”
J. Betski’s opened in 2006 and was routinely named one of the stars of the Triangle dining scene, according to former News & Observer dining critic Greg Cox, who gave it among his highest ratings ever. The restaurant’s fine dining take on Austrian, German and Polish dishes included schnitzel, sausages and perogies.
When J. Betski’s was built, the Korzekwinskis and the restaurant’s opening team helped put the dining room together, tiling floors and staining wood.
“It really was an extraordinary effort,” Korzekwinski said. “It took a lot of elbow grease. It’s a little weird, we thought it would be built for however long we owned the restaurant.”
The name J. Betski’s is made up, a combination of family odes that ended up christening the long-loved restaurant. The “J” stands for John, Bet for Elizabeth, Korzekwinski’s grandmother who everyone called Betty and Ski, the last syllable of the family name.
Seaboard Station changes
The Seaboard Station property is in the midst of a $300 million redevelopment, one of downtown Raleigh’s largest real estate projects, as Washington developer Hoffman & Associates plans to add 650 new apartments, 130,000 square feet of retail space and a new hotel. The News & Observer previously reported that the first phase of the project is scheduled to be completed by the middle of next year.
The redevelopment has already meant the closings of Sunflower’s Cafe and 18 Seaboard.
That first phase has not yet sent the wrecking ball into J. Betski’s, but Korzekwinski said it’s only a matter of time.
“This building will be gone in no more than two years,” Korzekwinski said. “That’s one of the main things factoring into the decision to move. We’re looking forward to being in a stable location, not too far from our original customer base.”
Korzekwinski said the pandemic was extraordinarily difficult for J. Betski’s, navigating the pivot from 16 years of dinner service to suddenly mostly to-go orders. But the lessons will carry over into the new space, which will include more prepared foods.
“We had to move to grab and go like everyone else,” Korzekwinski said. “We learned what traveled well into people’s homes and it saved us, we kept our ship above water. I’m grateful we made it through and still have this opportunity.”
This story was originally published August 12, 2021 at 11:03 AM.
