A local favorite prepares for its final service…
In a blow to Dunmore’s comfort-food soul, 3 Jacks Burger Bar has announced it will close its doors for good on November 30. The news, shared across the restaurant’s social media channels last month, landed with the kind of heaviness you feel more than hear, the quiet end of a neighborhood bar that knew exactly what it was and never pretended otherwise.
There’s still time for one last visit, but the countdown is officially underway.
A brief history of 3 Jacks…
When 3 Jacks opened on East Drinker Street, it didn’t arrive with a mission to reinvent anything. It simply leaned into what Dunmore already did well: hearty food, cold drinks, and a barroom that didn’t require you to dress up or think too hard. The TVs murmured in the background, the regulars had their preferred seats, and the dining room carried that easy familiarity you only get in a place built for everyday living.
But the menu was where the place found its identity.
3 Jacks earned its following with burgers that pushed past the usual bar-and-grill template. The patties came stacked with personality, bleu cheese that melted into the edges, bourbon-sweet glazes, sautéed or fried peppers, jalapeños, and thick-cut bacon that snapped when you bit into it. And if none of the signature combinations fit your mood, the build-your-own menu let you put together whatever you were craving. It wasn’t just an option; it was an invitation to make the exact burger you wanted.
On weekends, the kitchen even rolled out deep-fried pizza, indulgent, unapologetic, and the kind of thing you ordered because it made a long week feel a little lighter.
Word spread quickly. Early customers figured out that behind the low-key vibe was a kitchen trying harder than it let on. Over time, the restaurant slipped into the local dining scene as one of those places you didn’t have to explain, you just told people to go.
What the restaurant meant to Dunmore…
If you lived in or around Dunmore, chances are you were taken to 3 Jacks by someone who already loved it. A coworker after a late shift. A cousin who insisted their favorite burger build was the only correct one. A friend who wanted to introduce you to “their spot.”
It wasn’t a place where memories were orchestrated. They just happened over baskets of fries, dripping burgers, and the easy conversations that fill the space between sips of beer. Families stopped in after Little League games. Friends met there to catch up. Newcomers to the area quietly added it to their rotation after that first good meal.
Restaurants come and go, but the ones that leave a mark usually do so by becoming an extension of the town around them. For many in Dunmore, 3 Jacks became exactly that.
A chance to say goodbye…
There’s still time for one final burger, one more build-your-own creation, one last order of fries eaten at the bar. But not much.
If you’re planning to go, go soon, and go hungry. Order the burger you always get, or the one you’ve been putting off trying. Take a moment to sit with it. Look around. Let the place feel like itself one more time.
Because on November 30, when the last plate leaves the pass and the grill goes quiet, Dunmore isn’t just losing a restaurant. It’s losing a familiar piece of its landscape.
And that alone makes it worth one last visit.
