Fairgrounds Café will open soon at the site of the former Jungle Jim’s Café, which was a landmark on the north end and Route 66 for more than three decades before closing in January 2023.
Jack Ahmedi and Buka Nuhiji purchased the property at 1923 Peoria Road in August. “We’re still in the process of remodeling the interior; we pretty much tore it all down inside and we’re getting new equipment and everything,” Nuhiji said.
Nuhiji said her husband’s family owns Chatham Café and she worked there when the couple lived in Springfield previously. They most recently lived in Tampa, Florida, before moving back last year. “I have a degree in business and wanted to pursue my career, so I took a job in Tampa as a sales project manager,” Nuhiji said.
However, she also has a background in the restaurant industry. “My parents have owned a restaurant for the past 30 years since they got to the United States,” Nuhiji said, noting that the family owned and operated various restaurants in Iowa and Wisconsin. “When my father-in-law told us about Jungle Jim’s (being on the market), we jumped at the opportunity since we both know the business. We don’t have kids yet, so we thought, ‘Why not?’”
Nuhiji said she and her husband will both work in the restaurant full time and are in the process of hiring servers and dishwashers. Fairgrounds Café will be open seven days a week from 7 a.m.-3 p.m. and Nuhiji said the goal is to open by Feb. 1.
