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Mark Dion, with his wife, Kim, bought out the restaurant space at 16 Bridge St. in East Windsor and renovated it inside and out, above, creating a wholesome atmosphere that wiped away its previous rowdy reputation. (Tim Leininger / Journal Inquirer)
Kim Dion with a Reuben sandwich, a popular menu item at Mark's Tavern in East Windsor. (Tim Leininger / Journal Inquirer)
Mark's Tavern in East Windsor (Tim Leininger / Journal Inquirer).
Mark Dion, with his wife, Kim, bought out the restaurant space at 16 Bridge St. in East Windsor and renovated it inside and out, above, creating a wholesome atmosphere that wiped away its previous rowdy reputation. (Tim Leininger / Journal Inquirer)
Owner redoes East Windsor space and reputation
EAST WINDSOR — When Mark Dion, who owns Mark’s Restaurant in Enfield, decided to expand his restaurant business to East Windsor by buying the defunct JR’s Café at 16 Bridge St., he knew it was going to be a labor of love to turn around a decrepit old building with a less than stellar reputation. Little did he know what was in store for him when he first went forward with the acquisition in 2019.
The sale was contingent on acquiring a liquor license, so he went through the application process. As soon as he made it public about going for the license, the neighborhood let it be known it did not welcome the idea that the once notorious JR’s Café — where three employees were charged in 2016 and later convicted of drug-related charges — would reopen.
People from the neighborhood, he said, signed a petition to prohibit Dion from obtaining a liquor permit.
ADDRESS: 16 Bridge St., East Windsor.
HOURS: Monday, closed; Tuesday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
MENU: Sandwiches, salads, and soups; beer and spirits.
MISC.: Patio-seating, cornhole, open mic nights.
CONTACT: 860-539-8674; Mark’s Tavern on Facebook.
JR’s negative reputation went back for nearly 50 years, Dion said, and he recognized why the negative reception.
“Understandably the neighborhood had had it,” he said.
But, he said, without the liquor permit, the location was useless.
“It wasn’t until the middle of November (2019) that I had a hearing with the liquor commission,” he said. “The neighborhood’s opinion was shared. I was allowed a rebuttal. I understood where the neighborhood was coming from, but what did it have to do with me?”
The commission sided with Dion and he was given permission to go forward with the provision that he meet specific upgrades before the permit request expired in April 2020. Work included addition of a kitchen to the building, a lockable liquor storage area, and completion of the bar and dining areas.
Dion said he had 10 weeks to finish the renovation and get approval from the commission or start the application process again.
Mark's Tavern in East Windsor (Tim Leininger / Journal Inquirer).
Thankfully, he said, town officials were very supportive.
“Between the town hall, the fire marshal … they were on board with things,” he said. “They treated me well and helped me move along. They were cooperative and understood my situation. We got our crews here and going flat out.”
He said his crew got enough done that the liquor license was green lit, but he couldn’t open because Gov. Ned Lamont shut down all restaurants due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dion decided to keep working on the tavern, forgoing opening when some restrictions were lifted in August 2020, with the goal of opening in December.
“We opened the first week of December,” he said, and was open a week before a staff member tested positive for COVID and they had to shut down again.
Originally built in the 1890s, Dion said the building probably should have been condemned, but he repaired the foundations of the building, which had roots pushing through the basement walls. He said he also rewired the entire building and removed layers of roofing, replacing both the roof supports and roofing.
If it wasn’t for the recently renovated bar, which also had its ceiling raised to open up the space, Mark’s Tavern almost looks like a home den. An upright piano sits against one wall with a record player on top and classic rock, pop, and jazz records sitting on the side. A still-functioning cigarette vending machine is against another wall.
“We might turn it into a candy machine,” Kim Dion, Mark’s wife, said. A functioning little wooden cuckoo clock adorns one wall, and old alcohol advertising signs that were discovered during the renovation decorate the wall above the bar. There’s a back deck as well as a small putting green and a cornhole setup.
“There’s a uniqueness you don’t see at other taverns,” Mark Dion said. “It’s cozy and homey. When people come here, they find that they talk to people they don’t know very easily.”
He said the new kitchen is going to eventually be expanded, but for now the tavern offers a modest menu.
Kim Dion with a Reuben sandwich, a popular menu item at Mark's Tavern in East Windsor. (Tim Leininger / Journal Inquirer)
The most popular dishes, he said, are the pulled pork sandwich, the Reuben, and the meatball sandwich.
“Mark makes them, and I like the sauce that they’re cooked in,” Kim said of the meatball sandwich. “The bread is homemade.”
She said other popular dishes include the homemade jalapeno cheddar bacon bread and the buffalo chicken soup, which is on the rotation of soups that the tavern serves.
“I do a different one a week,” she said, which is posted on their Facebook page.
There is still a lot of work to be done, Mark said, including kitchen expansion, reflooring the dining area, and remodeling the front of the building.
Kim said they’ll announce on Facebook when they’ll be closed for renovations.
“If you come back in six months it’s going to look different,” Mark said. “It will help people understand it is not what it was.”
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