The vision Elic Purvis has for 2114 Front Street is a little hard to see. Gutting the grease-soaked kitchen, tearing down walls and opening up the ceiling exposed old burn damage, termites and structural concerns.

Purvis said he hopes the three-suite building, formerly the home of Jean’s Restaurant and now rebranded as Jean’s, will be open by January. 

“The first thing you’ll see when you walk in is the lunch counter and the movement of the lunch counter,” Purvis said. “We’re pushing the kitchen back and exposing a portion of it so you can see the hustle and bustle of it… I really like that feel of being able to see all the movement in the kitchen.”

Purvis describes the new restaurant as “diner style but with a modern approach,” keeping the history of the long-standing Meridian staple.

“It’s something we need to keep in downtown,” Purvis said. “We need it.”

Purvis said the focus on Jean’s would be fresh, locally sourced food. At the beginning, Jean’s will continue to serve the weekday crowd with daily specials before, hopefully, expanding to weekend and evening hours, Purvis said.

“We’re getting all of our licenses now,” Purvis said. 

Purvis said the dining area will be opened up to encompass the entire width of the building, rather than being divided into sections, and the entrance will shift to the center door, rather than the door closest to Uptown Girl. He keeps dozens of photos of designs on his phone, searching for the perfect mix of classic and modern.

A mock-up of the new Jean’s logo, which will adorn the front of the building, keeps it simple with bright red, white and black. For the last few weeks workers have demolished much of the interior and an engineer will work to address the old building’s damage.

Jean’s Restaurant closed abruptly in July, after Purvis and his father, David Purvis, with Peachtree Properties, LLC, stopped minor renovations for a complete overhaul after discovering health hazards throughout the building. 

“The ceiling fell in one of the back areas,” David Purvis said in July. “So, I said, I’m going to start there and close off the area, and pull up the 20-year old carpet. But, after I spent 40 hours in there this weekend, I went through the whole building and it was in a such a state that it just had to be closed.”

Jamie Johnson, the owner of Jean’s Restaurant, was served an eviction notice and invited to renegotiate his lease after 30 days but Johnson said he wanted to move the business elsewhere.

Johnson said Wednesday he planned to open a different restaurant in Dalewood on Nov. 1 and revisit Jean’s Restaurant around the opening of the Threefoot Building. 

For Elic Purvis, one of the most important aspects of re-opening the restaurant would be the staff.

“All of the waitstaff and kitchen staff is coming back,” Purvis said. “They’re all excited we’re breathing life into it.”

As a long-time Meridian resident, Elic Purvis knew that some of the staff had never worked anywhere else.

“A big part of this is giving back to the people who worked here for 30, 40 years,” Elic Purvis said. “We’re bringing back something they could be proud of.”

Jean’s will be the second restaurant opening up on Front Street, with Mimmo’s Bistro, an Italian lunch bistro, opening sometime this month.