Jackalope Ranch renovations are underway in the city of Indio
Jackalope Ranch is coming back to the valley. A new set of owners has purchased the 9.8-acre land.
After two years of being closed due to the pandemic, the Jackalope Ranch is being restored by new owners, who hope to open as early as July.
"We've had tremendous, tremendous restoration, says the General Manager of Jackalope Ranch., Charlie Christols. "Everything from the rooftop of the air conditioning systems, refrigeration, and other kitchen equipment is all brand new. Even with the improvements, it will still have familiar touches.
Christols says they have restored a lot of the wood, furniture, and light fixtures to their original form to maintain the integrity of the restaurant.
News Channel 3: Why are you choosing to open the restaurant now?
"Well, it's a perfect time of the year to open up it's a slow season, will be able to ramp up business with the staff, get the staff fully trained, and won't be crazy, like in the fall. So it's the perfect time. The new owners are hoping to have up to 200 people staffed at this location by October for lunch and brunch. "We're blessed to have so many great people decide to come join us," says Christols. "We thought we have a problem staff in the restaurant. But literally in the span of three weeks, we've gathered over 200 applications."
They are currently training people to prepare for their soft opening that will come this summer; the full menu is being finalized right now. "Of course, the restaurant had a DNA of barbecue; we'll keep that," says Christols. "But we're going to have a tremendous variety, lots of salad sandwiches. We're also going to specialize in game meats."
In the fall, they plan to open their retail store.
Christols, says they have been working on the reopening and construction since January 2023 to get the restaurant back into shape. There is no definite date for a reopening, but they anticipate the moment they can start accepting guests again.
"Hopefully another couple of weeks, we have a permit so we can start bringing some food in and start testing out the food and then have the soft opening, hopefully open up by early July, late June, hopefully, maybe, says Christodulelis. "But probably By early July at this point."
They have been accepting employment applications. If you are interested, give this number a call (760) 345-2300 for instructions.
The Jackalope Ranch is located at 80400 Highway 111 in Indio, CA. It consists of approximately
21,594+/- square feet of premium restaurant space and event venue with a seating capacity of 485
seats.
