Scott Kerner, co-owner of Good Measure Pub & Brewery in Northfield and Carrier Roasting in Northfield and Burlington, is launching Montpelier sports bar JJ’s with a silent partner. Kerner, 51, said he and his girlfriend, the new business’ general manager, Emily Hassard, will open the doors at 14 Langdon Street the week of August 24. The space has been a bar since 1997 and was occupied for nine years by Langdon Street Tavern until its closure on June 4.
Both members of the couple have already worked at 14 Langdon: Kerner tended bar there from 2006 to 2008, when it was an outpost of McGillicuddy’s Irish Pub; Hassard bartended at Langdon Street Tavern before it closed. The new bar is named for her late father, John “JJ” Hassard, who was a regular at McGillicuddy’s during Kerner’s tenure there.
Kerner said the pair are shooting to create “an affordable watering hole for everyone with an old-school sports-bar vibe, like in the Bruce Springsteen song ‘Mary’s Place.’” The couple have cleaned and brightened the space and added new TVs, he noted.
JJ’s full bar will offer cocktails plus beer. Kerner said not to expect the same focus on local craft beer there as at the city’s Three Penny Taproom, which he previously co-owned with his brother, Kevin, the current co-owner. The “elevated pub food” menu at his new business will resemble the Good Measure roster of smash burgers, nachos, wings and salads — plus free chili during Sunday football games.