Community Corner
PJ's Pancake House Brings Partner, Reinvented Dinner Dishes to the Table
The famed Nassau Street eatery is looking to build upon its well-known breakfast business with the help of restaurateurs John and Tino Procaccini.
PJ’s Pancake House on Nassau Street recently linked up with two new equity partners who are looking to bring fresh bistro dishes to the lunch and dinner table at the borough’s famed eatery.
John Procaccini, a Princeton native, and his brother, Tino Procaccini, officially became partners with current owner Martin Tuchman on Aug. 1.
While there may be some additions to the menu, the new partners are not looking to reinvent the classics, or in this case, the pancake; the breakfast staple that has been feeding visitors and university students alike since 1962.
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Procaccini said on Thursday that Herb Tuchman, the original co-owner and manager of the restaurant, passed away last November. Since then, brother and co-owner Martin has been running the restaurant. The new partner said that Martin will still have an active roll in the business.
In addition to taking a partnership in PJ’s, the Procaccini brothers also own the Princeton Sports Bar and Grille on Nassau Street and Osteria Procaccini in Kingston.
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“We want to keep the legacy of PJ's going,” said Procaccini on Thursday afternoon as a mid-day lull between lunch and dinner began to pick up, as several tables throughout the eatery became occupied.
Procaccini said that his main focus, along with Tino, who is taking over as the chef of PJ’s, is to develop a bistro menu to entice customers to visit the establishment during the dinner hour, long after the breakfast crowd wanes.
“The focus is really going to be on quality, as well as working with local farms to infuse local produce and [ingredients] whenever we can,” he said.
Currently, the focus is on overhauling the kitchen, so that the cooks can transition from griddle concoctions and make the switch to full-top ranges that can handle sautéd entrees.
The dinner menu will likely take cues from pasta-based Italian dishes, as well as different kinds of salads.
The interior of the restaurant, complete with worn-with-time wooden tabletops and the classic Princeton photographs on the wall are all set to stay put.
The full roll-out of the new lunch and dinner additions to the menu is projected to be in early September, said Procaccini.
