BLOOMINGDALE — Juniors and seniors in the culinary arts program are cooking up deliciousness at the Crestview Inn Cafe that is now open at the Jefferson County Joint Vocational School.

Program instructor Glen Zalenski said a soft opening was held Sept. 30 with breakfast and lunch being offered on Tuesday to Thursday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The public is invited to the site at 1509 county Highway 22A in Bloomingdale.

“We are now fully open to the public and we offer breakfast from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and lunch from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.,” Zalenski said. “We added new items this year and this is the first time since 2018 that we’ve been open for breakfast.”

The early menu includes griddle items including French toast and hotcakes, specialty plates such as breakfast pizza, a breakfast sandwich on an English muffin or bagel, breakfast pot pie, fresh fruit bowl, S.O.S. (homemade white gravy with beef over toast) and sausage biscuits and gravy and egg-citing dishes with egg combos and omelettes. Toast, homefries and a choice of bacon, sausage, and ham are also available. The breakfast gravy is also made from scratch and the orange juice is freshly squeezed, plus a choice of cappuccino and other coffees are on tap.

The lunch menu features appetizers including soup, sweet chili, cheese wedges and onion rings; salads including Greek, autumn chicken and fresh shrimp; dinners including chicken mushroom melts and a popcorn shrimp basket; sandwiches fried fish, B.L.T., cheeseburger, open-faced gyro, and Monte Cristo; and a la carte items including onion rings, French fries, cole slaw, stir-fry rice, side salad, cup of soup and pickled cuke salad. Beverages and dessert are also offered and the menu items are priced between $1 to $9.

“We’ve added new items that will be available temporarily, including sweet Italian sausage sandwiches, Philadelphia cheesesteak sandwiches, the fish and chips dinner and homemade meatball sliders,” he continued, saying the menu will be changed seasonally while students will create smoked meats onsite.

Zalenski said his 20 juniors and seniors will all have duties in the cafe, with the underclassmen preparing and serving the breakfast and seniors overseeing lunch.

“We were able to split the classes and it gave us the option to open for breakfast, and it’s a lead-in to working in the kitchen. It will help them to master the lunch and dinner menu and breakfast is a skill all on its own.”

He said his program is already getting busy and activities are planned later this month with trips to Hocking College to tour post-secondary facilities on Oct. 28 and attending the ProStart Leadership Laboratory in Columbus on Oct. 29. More events include competitions this spring with culinary contests for seniors and restaurant management matchups for juniors.

Meanwhile, dine-in and takeout service are available and online ordering will be offered soon. Reservations for small groups and meetings are available and the dining area seats up to 40 people. For information or to make an order, call (740) 264-5545, extension 602.