The closing of
Restaurant Mediteran and Deli doesn't mean Lansing will be without the signature dishes that attracted diners for a decade.
Owner Igor Jurkovic simply opened a smaller version of the popular restaurant a few blocks away.
In mid-March, Jurkovic opened Mediteran Cafe at 200 N. Washington Square. The eatery features new and familiar dishes from the family of Croatian-trained chefs, and occupies a previous employee cafe in the Capitol National Bank Building.
"I'd been supplying the bank and its cafe with soups and catering services for the past several years," says Jurkovic. "I had my eye on the spot ever since my parents decided to retire and close the restaurant."
Jurkovic and his parents had run the Restaurant Mediteran since 2005. The family had come to Lansing in 1998 as refugees after the Bosnian War devastated their home, livelihood and family.
Igor's parents—Mirko and Ljubica—had worked and owned restaurants most their lives, and Igor had attended culinary school in Croatia. Starting a restaurant in Lansing drew upon those talents and enabled the family to rebuild their lives.
"I got adopted by this town," says Jurkovic. "We grew our business here and now people know us and our family."
The new cafe will feature soups; daily specials like spinach pies, gyros, lamb shank, Wiener schnitzel and goulash; and other favorites from the previous restaurant. Newer menu items include paninis, pastries, frozen yogurt, and Italian and other European coffees.
Jurkovic decked out the new space familiar decor from the old restaurant including the gallery of drawings by his father. He expanded the footprint of the previous bank cafe to about 3,000 square feet and hired four staff. The new restaurant features a main dining area with 10 tables plus two newly renovated areas for catering small- to mid-sized groups. Seating at an outdoor patio is also in the works.
In addition to his new venture, Jurkovic co-owns two
Leaf Salad Bars in East Lansing and Okemos, and runs the kitchen for
The Exchange.
"The restaurant business is my passion," says Jurkovic. "I'm very happy my parents are able to retire and are going that route, but I will miss their support. We'll do our best to recreate things on a smaller scale."
Source: Igor Jurkovic, Owner, Mediteran Cafe
Writer: Ann Kammerer, News Editor
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