A longtime dream becomes LJ’s Lounge at Triangle Square

For more than 20 years, Kenneth Jackson kept a restaurant business plan on ice.

It survived a 27-year corporate career at Toyota and Lexus, a parallel life as a DJ, fatherhood and the myriad practical reasons not to open a restaurant. But when Jackson retired in 2024, the idea went from hypothetical to real. “It’s always been in my head and in my heart,” he said.

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LJ’s Lounge, his roughly 4,000-square foot restaurant and venue, has opened on the upper level of Triangle Square in Costa Mesa, making it one of the region’s few Black- and veteran-owned culinary ventures.

Christened after his mother, Linda Jean, the new concept brings together Southern-inspired food, cocktails, weekend brunch, DJs and live performances in a room Jackson wants to feel like a gathering at someone’s home rather than a conventional restaurant.

“This has always been in my head and my heart,” said Jackson. “This is my swan song. Before they put me in the ground and I ascend, I’m going to do this.”

And opening in Orange County made perfect sense. Jackson grew up in Orange County, attended local schools and graduated from Cal State Fullerton. He began DJing at a young age, first with a cousin then on his own, working in nightclubs, weddings and corporate events. Music, in particular, gave him an early education in how people gather, while working at Toyota honed his emphasis on precision, efficiency and leadership.

Over 27 years, Jackson moved “from basically a call center to a boardroom.” The result, after poring over a successful proof of concept, is LJ’s, an eatery built around the idea that Orange County denizens want more than a few soul food dishes dropped onto otherwise unrelated menus.

“You can go to your favorite Mexican restaurant, your favorite Chinese restaurant, your favorite Indian, Thai, whatever, but there wasn’t really all that many soul food offerings,” he said, “a place where people could go and experience typical Black culture and Southern comfort food.”

For Jackson, that experience includes the soundtrack, decor and service as much as what’s going on in the kitchen. He wanted a place “where the music, the ambiance, the food and everything kind of give you a feel of coming over to the home of a Black or African-American family.”

The menu, conceived by Jackson and chef Justin McNeil, includes fried chicken and waffles, shrimp and grits, gumbo, red beans and rice, braised oxtail, collard greens, mac and cheese, and catfish. According to Jackson, the catfish, caught straight from the Delta, has emerged as a best-seller. The oxtail and chicken and waffles have also drawn strong, positive responses, he said.

At LJ’s, many of the dishes carry names that turn the menu into something of a family album. To wit: Uncle Manuel’s Delta Catfish honors Jackson’s uncle. Aunt Benella’s Collard Greens pays tribute to his aunt, whom he called “the foundation of my faith.” Darlene’s Shrimp and Grits, Molly’s Mac and Cheese and Big Ken’s Chocolate Cake recognize people important to Jackson, his investors and their families, including loved ones who have died.

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“The menu allows us to memorialize and remember the inspiration, the contribution, the impact that people had,” he said. “That’s a legacy.”

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The cocktail program will feature such tipples as Rhythm & Soul (Mezcal and Aperol meets citrus; optional muddled jalapeño); Georgia on My Mind (Southern Comfort, peach and basil); and Passion Fruit Margarita (a prickly pear margarita with reposado tequila and lime.) Also of note, South Bay coffee roaster Offset Coffee is served at the eatery and will be available at a take-out window coming in August.

Other menu items include Midnight Train to Georgia Peach Cobbler, Fried Chicken Sandwich, Chicken Wings (with hot honey, buffalo, Cajun or lemon pepper sauce), Black Mamba Smash Burger (double wagyu beef patty and a choice of fries) and, in yet another namesake tribute, Mom’s Cornbread served with honey butter.

Linda Jean’s influence reaches even further. Jackson said the one word that best captures his mother’s standards is excellence, whether the matter was school, character or work. Her lessons, he revealed, were to “live up to your potential, pursue excellence and control what you can control.”

LJ’s “Soul to Sole” brunch features old-school hip-hop and R&B on Saturdays, while Sundays shift from gospel and jazz earlier in the day to reggae later. Karaoke, performers and other social events are also part of the programming. Diners can also look forward to weekly podcast recordings, indoor and outdoor seating and upcoming community events.

Jackson tested the idea and menu items before signing a restaurant lease by producing a beach brunch. A concept whose turnout, he said, gave him evidence that it could move from a temporary event into a permanent home.

Opening any restaurant remains a gamble, especially one this epic. Jackson believes LJ’s has an advantage precisely because it’s not chasing the broadest possible audience. “If I was opening a pizza spot or Mexican restaurant, I think I would feel a bit more challenged” in a market already saturated with those genres, he said. “Because we’re going after a unique niche, that is where the confidence comes from.”

His measure of success, however, is not simply whether the tables stay full. Jackson has organized his new restaurant around five values — community, love, excellence, adaptability and responsibility — compressed into the acronym CLEAR.

“If we do those things,” he said, “we’ll be successful.”

Hours: LJ’s Lounge is currently serving dinner on weeknights (with the possible exception of Mondays at the moment), and weekend brunch. In August, it will open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Find it: Upper level at Triangle Square,1870 Harbor Blvd (at Newport Blvd.), Costa Mesa, 949-791-2022, ljslounge.com

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