Trendy Tacoma bar closes as new owner makes changes. What to expect when it reopens

On my last visit to 1022 South J, the neighborhood cocktail bar of the same address in Tacoma’s Hilltop neighborhood, I ordered the smashburger with shredded lettuce, special sauce and two beef patties. Unlike many of its ilk, the bun was just right — not too dry, not too soft — and the meat was really smashed, rendering crispy edges quite literally laced with burnt cheddar.

I made a mental note to return in a few weeks to order it again, to see if it was as good as I thought in that initial encounter. If so, I was going to write about it.

Instead, I am here to tell you about its sabbatical.

As of mid-summer, Ten-22 — as some have nicknamed it, others call it J Street — has closed, at least the door to its post-2015 self. A neighborhood tavern with a similar menu of smart bar food and great cocktails will open later this year under a new name and a new owner.

Chef Riley Morgan, who has led the kitchen since 2013, is buying the business from Lesley Fleming and Neil Harris, both parties confirmed to The News Tribune.

“That little joint is not going away,” said Fleming, who also owns The New Frontier Lounge in the Dome District. (It, too, is temporarily closed. They expanded the kitchen in 2019 and hope to reopen this fall.) She alluded to pandemic-related challenges as well as ongoing hiccups with LINK construction in the neighborhood and a forthcoming sidewalk tear-out that would close the front patio for several weeks. “We’re a teeny little place and our patio is important.”

“The short answer is yes,” said Morgan in August. “After nine years, I’m buying the bar. It’s kind of what I’ve been working toward the whole time. I’ve worked a lot of hours in that space, put in a lot of heart and soul.”

Chris Jennerjohn will return as bar manager. They plan to continue the cocktail tradition but will “simplify a bit,” said Morgan. Last spring’s list, for instance, ran 18 drinks deep. Paring it down will aid service and staffing while also, the chef hopes, fostering a more demure atmosphere.

“We wanna be a little bit more of a neighborhood bar, which is what I’ve always strived for with that place,” he said.

1022 SOUTH J HISTORY

This narrow, intimate space debuted as a cocktail den in 2005, then called Monsoon Room. 1022 South opened here in 2009 helmed, in part, by Chris Keil, who went on to open the late Marrow and Hilltop Kitchen before landing comfortably at Courthouse Square with en Rama. Under his purview, the bar attracted big-city attention from the likes of Seattle Met and Seattle Weekly, and even The New York Times’ T Magazine — albeit contributed by a Tacoma-born food and drink writer. At the time, it was peerless in the region. Now there are several excellent cocktail bars in Tacoma, including Hilltop neighbors Zodiac Supper Club and Bar Rosa.

By 2015, the name had changed slightly to 1022 South J, and Morgan helped design a bigger (but still quite small) kitchen. The North Carolina native infused Southern charm into a menu of thoughtful bar food: pimento cheese and crackers, jalapeno cheddar hush puppies, sides of coleslaw and an awesome fried chicken sandwich.

“I love frying chicken,” he laughed.

I didn’t even mention what we had with the burger and house-cut fries: the cheddar grit cake, a flattened pillow of unexpected delight sewn somewhere between a corn fritter and corn pudding.

Popular dishes, including said sandwiches, will return when the restaurant does.

“I joke that they bought my house,” said Morgan, who moved to Tacoma in 2011 with his partner Shea, when a visit to a friend turned into a cross-country “leap of faith.” After a decade in the 1022 kitchen, he “jumped at the opportunity to buy it.”

He and Jennerjohn are currently updating the interior with fresh paint and decor that will likely include local artists’ work for display and sale — “just giving the place a vibe check.”

The new name is yet to be determined but will speak to the bar’s realigned mission.

“We like getting to know people,” said Morgan. “We love just making it people’s favorite place, or drink, or bartender. Making people feel good and special and that they’ve got a place. That they feel welcomed. I try to treat it as if you were in my living room.”

Sounds like a tavern to me.

1022 South J, Tacoma

Reporter’s Note, December 2022: 1022 South J will not reopen as planned. Morgan and Jennerjohn are pursuing alternative locations.

This story was originally published September 6, 2022 at 5:00 AM.