Jockamo Upper Crust Pizza

Jockamo Upper Crust Pizza

A longtime dream will become reality when Jockamo Upper Crust Pizza on East Washington Street opens Oct. 22. “[We] have discussed doing this for about 10 years,” says co-owner Bob Stark. “We all live in Irvington and the timing and the location finally came together.”

Stark is speaking of his three business partners: his wife, Laura, a vice president at the Center for Diagnostic Imaging, and friends Mick McGrath, formerly the general manager of Bazbeaux, and McGrath’s wife, Laura Duncan, a renal transplant coordinator at Clarian Hospital. “We all bring a unique talent and aspect to the project,” says Bob Stark, a sales engineer for concrete construction supplier PERI Formwork.

McGrath, who will run the pizza shops’ day-to-day operations, brings a wealth of experience from his 18 years at Bazbeaux. The 150-seat Irvington eatery (with 112 seats inside and about 40 more in a back courtyard) will serve pizza, sandwiches, salad, beer and wine. “We will be using our own recipes and all fresh ingredients,” Stark says. “We plan to have the best pizza that has ever been served on this side of Indianapolis.”

He adds that Bazbeaux owners Jeff and Debbie Berman have been very supportive of the new venture, which will be located next to Dufour’s at 5646 E. Washington St. “Mick has had a very good working relationship with Jeff and Debbie over the years and they have been very helpful in our planning and budgeting process,” Stark says. “I’m sure you will see them at our Grand Opening and we will all remain close friends for many years.”

So how did the four partners come up with the restaurant’s unusual name? “Mick and Nancy have a son named Jackson,” Stark explains. “When Jackson was a baby, Mick’s brother would call him little Jockamo. Upon first hearing it years ago, Mick and Nancy thought it would be a great name for a restaurant. The Upper Crust part is to separate ourselves from just an average pizza place.”

Though they’ve faced some delays due to facade renovations, Stark says they expect to be open for business — seven days a week — in time for Halloween Festival Week. “We have been very encouraged by all the positive feedback about our restaurant,” Stark says. “We are as anxious as everyone else to see this area become the jewel that we know it can become.”