Newport’s Jackshrimp restaurant is going to peel out after 25 years

After spending a quarter of a century serving his California-style Cajun cuisine in Newport Beach, Jackshrimp owner Jack Jasper will close the doors to his popular Mariner’s Mile restaurant June 28.

“It’s been an incredible run,” Jasper said. “I’ve been blessed with this place.”

But don’t expect Jasper to stay away from the restaurant business for long. He’s already on the hunt for another location, preferably one more hospitable to the lunchtime crowd. Jackshrimp currently is open only for dinner during the week.

“This area isn’t really conducive to the lunch crowd,” he said of his longtime location.

Jasper first opened Jackshrimp in Newport Beach 25 years ago. After two years, he moved the restaurant to its current location at 2400 W. Coast Hwy., next to Garlic Jo’s.

When the lease on the two-story, forest-green building expired in January, he decided it was time for a change.

Jasper has been leasing the building month to month so he can say farewell to his customers, many of whom have frequented Jackshrimp since its beginning.

“It’s been really easy for me to want to be at work all the time,” Jasper said. “My friends and relationships with people have been restaurant-related. … This has been the biggest chunk of my adult life.”

Jasper said another restaurant is slated to open in Jackshrimp’s place, but he declined to identify it because the new tenant’s plans are not yet approved by the city.

Jackshrimp is known for its “CaliforniCajun” cuisine, which fuses California-style food with Jasper’s 100-year-old Louisiana family recipes.

Most of the hot-ticket items on his menu include Jackshrimp, a shell-on gulf shrimp in spicy special sauce, Jammin Jambalaya, and Jackrice, which consists of gulf shrimp, chicken and special sauce served over steamed rice.

Jasper said he also tries to incorporate local businesses into his food, including the bread he serves.

A sign posted on the restaurant reminds customers to get their “Jackshrimp fix while the getting is still good.”

“I have so much heartfelt gratitude for all my VIPs, all our regulars, as well as the great first-time guests that I still get to meet every day,” Jasper wrote on the sign.