Jackson's to close in Commack

After 19 years on Jericho Turnpike in Commack, Jackson’s is closing on Sunday. The friendly, easygoing restaurant called itself a gastropub and defined that term, on its website, as a spot serving "unpretentious American food that pairs well with craft beer and small batch spirits." An apt description.

Shelby Poole, the daughter of founders Art and Lori Bloom (as well as their marketing maven), said the family had sold its lease. "The cost of everything has gone up so much, there really is no operating margin," she said. "We were in it for so many years for the love of the game and it also made financial sense. But it’s just not sustainable anymore."

Jackson’s was as agile as it was welcoming. When sliders started their ascent in 2007, Jackson’s served them. Trending lettuce wraps, veggie burgers and burnt Brussels sprouts followed them onto the menu. After the nearby Borders Books closed in 2012, the semi-partitioned "library room" was drafted into use as a place where customers could play mahjong, canasta and Scrabble.

And it was a true family affair, with chef-founder Art Bloom leading a team comprising his wife, Lori Bloom, who ran the office, Shelby and her husband, chef Harry Poole, and their children, Riley, 15, a part-time hostess, and Wyatt, 8, whose contributions to the business have been cut short.

Nineteen years is a long life for any restaurant, but Art Bloom’s restaurant career goes back much further: In 1991 he opened his first restaurant, Rigatoni, in Rockville Centre.

He told Newsday in 1999 that he’d left a successful career as a commercial interior designer to fulfill his chef dreams. When the father of two told his wife he was retiring from his business to become a chef and restaurateur, he received only encouragement. "Lori is the one who made me make things happen," he said.

Rigatoni was followed by G.D. Graffiti in Woodbury (1992) and Bali (later Tropical Graffiti) in Huntington (1996). In 2001, the Blooms opened Fat Artie’s in Plainview, reimagining it as Red Fish Grille the following year. In 2004, they took over a corner space in Commack and launched a companion to Red Fish, Blue Oyster Grill. In 2006, the family surveyed the dining scene and figured people were more inclined to go out for a bite than for a big-deal meal. They converted Blue Oyster into a restaurant with a more casual vibe and lower prices: Jackson’s was born.

Back in Plainview, Red Fish was re-reimagined again in 2012, this time as Morrison’s. The gastropub had a profound impact on the family: Art and Lori hired chef Harry Poole while Shelby was away at college. "You’ll love the new guy," they told her. And she did: She married him. In addition to running the kitchen at Morrison's, Harry eventually took over the reins at Jackson's as Art eased out of day-to-day operations. Morrison’s closed in 2022.

Looking back on all those restaurants, Shelby said that she was "proud of what my family has done, building places that provided more than a meal — we built gathering places and created a culture."