Former South co-owner N’Gina Guyton is reopening Jim-Denny’s, the beloved downtown Sacramento diner that closed in February 2020 after 85 years in business.

It’s an unexpected marriage between the classic diner founded by Jim Van Nort and Denny McFall in 1934 and a talented contemporary chef whose own restaurant crumbled last year.

The original Jim-Denny’s served up unfussy comfort foods such as pancakes and hamburgers. Guyton’s version, which is slated to open in late spring looks like a modern Californian interpretation of that concept.

A menu released on Instagram last week features chorizo hot dogs covered in mango salsa and Takis (a brand of heavily spiced rolled corn tortilla chips), blackened salmon salads with watermelon and queso fresco and, yes, classic burgers, albeit with shallot-leek jam and a “secret sauce.”

Beer-battered cauliflower, onion rings and other fried bites round out the menu, which Guyton said will be supplemented by seasonal specials. Drinks and desserts are the only chapters yet to be finalized.

“We’re keeping the concept as classic Americana fare. I do want to add, of course, being in Northern California, some influences of that,” Guyton said.

Jim-Denny’s navigated downtown Sacramento’s changes before Danielle and Jimmy McCune ultimately closed it in February 2020, despite hour-long lines in the final weeks. Restaurateur Joe Pearcy tried to follow up the restaurant at 816 12th St. with a soul food joint called Royal Oaks in 2021, but closed it after a few months.

Wait times could back up for Jim-Denny’s 10 stools, so Guyton is adding two weather-protected outdoor sections. One will be more suited for families, and the other will be geared toward groups there for a pitcher of beer and a bite.

Guyton founded South with her now ex-husband Ian Kavookjian and ran it until the Southside Park soul food spot abruptly closed last June. South was a sticking point in the former couple’s divorce, with both sides wanting control of the business’ intellectual property and unable to come to a buyout agreement, The Sacramento Bee later reported.

Kavookjian and Guyton’s ongoing legal battle, which is scheduled to go to trial on March 27, keeps Guyton from putting South’s dishes on Jim-Denny’s menu, as they’re currently disputed intellectual property. Not that she’d like to, really.

The closure of South, which based many dishes on Guyton’s family recipes, is still a metaphorical open wound, one that stings when well-meaning Sacramentans ask her about it.

“Unfortunately, South is gone and she’s just not coming back,” Guyton said. “People need to understand the death of that restaurant was like the death of a child. And just like you wouldn’t go up to a parent that lost a really important child in their life that’s not going to be replaceable, you can’t keep bringing (South’s closure) up.”

Background: Jim-Denny’s was a downtown Sacramento landmark for 85 years before closing in early 2020. Former South co-owner N’Gina Guyton will reopen the storied restaurant in late spring.

What to look for: Andouille sausage meatloaf sandwiches, blackened salmon/watermelon salads and hot dogs laden with housemade chili.

Where: 816 12th St., Sacramento.

Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Sunday, closed Monday.

This story was originally published February 22, 2023 at 6:00 AM.