By Sue Poster, Westfield-Barcelona Chamber of Commerce Coordinator
Julie Travis has re-opened Jack’s Barcelona Drive In, after a long winter of snow and cold temperatures. The re-opening of Jack’s is a true sign that the weather will be soon be warming up and our snow birds will return. Jack’s is located at 8249 First St in Barcelona. Hours vary slightly from time to time but are mostly 7am to 8 pm M-F and 7 am to 3 pm on Saturday and Sunday.
Having closed for the winter in October, Julie opened the first week of March and was greeted with visits from many of her grateful regulars. Julie and her brother Stephan have owned Jack’s for 24 years, both are lifelong residents of the Westfield/Barcelona area. Julie did move away for a time but returned in 1993. Her mother, Helen Baran must have been very happy to have Julie back here, as are we all.
Julie learned her craft of cooking and baking at restaurants that she worked at through the years. Her talents evolved to what you have today. Pie is a favorite dessert in western New York and Westfield is home to many great places to get pie and Jack’s is surely one of the great ones. (FYI-her peanut butter pie is the best I have ever had, lest I digress.)
Julie has a team of people around her that enjoy being at Jack’s to help with all that needs to be done. David Betz, resident artist, has been with the restaurant for 23 years off and on. Bobbie Jo Soden is another familiar face to many as she maneuvers through the tables delivering the hand crafted dishes that are served. There are many visitors to our area from all around the country that make annual pilgrimages to Jack’s. Julie has seen many families return year after year. Most days you can go to Jack’s and find local folks enjoying time catching up on the town happenings, no one is a stranger at Jack’s!
Summer evenings you can sit and enjoy a sunset over the lake and if you are lucky there may be live music as well. The deck is also a nice place to enjoy your breakfast and soak up some sunshine.
As an animal lover Julie and her husband Rod have two dogs that she rescued, April is a border collie that was found in ditch and Daisy is a terrier that was adopted through NCCR in Westfield. You don’t have to go far to meet someone that has something nice to say about Julie, she is always ready to lend a hand to those in need. Last summer after the “non-tornado” that hit the area, residents at Hawthorne Beach told of how Julie came out with breakfast burritos and coffee for those that didn’t have electricity.
When asked what she likes about Westfield Barcelona Julie said she enjoys the hometown feel, the unencumbered life style, the four seasons, and the safe feel. She likes the wineries, breweries and B&B’s. She is quite the ambassador for all that is Westfield/Barcelona.
If you stop in at Jack’s Barcelona In you may get your picture taken and posted on the facebook page for the restaurant, this can be quite an honor! It is always fun to see who is out and about. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that Jack’s is for sale, Julie would like to have time for other pursuits. We all wish the best for Julie and Jack’s.