Philip Krajeck’s Junior Opens on Dickerson Pike

“We wanted to get back to the roots of cooking,” says Philip Krajeck of his new restaurant Junior, which opened earlier this month.

You’d be forgiven if you find yourself asking, “Isn’t that what Krajeck already has been doing?” Yes, he’s a James Beard Award semifinalist, chef and the owner of two of Nashville’s most acclaimed restaurants. Rolf & Daughters opened in Germantown in late 2012, and Folk opened in 2018 in McFerrin Park.

But Junior, built on the site of a former Piggly Wiggly on Dickerson Pike (Fancypants shares the same parking lot), is a new take on the kitchen for Krajeck and his accomplished team. First, it’s small, with 50 seats and plans in the works for a patio that will seat 16. But that’s far from the only difference between Junior and Rolf and Folk.

“Just being smaller, having a focused team, having the kitchen be an interactive part of service, and wanting to get back to the roots of cooking," says Krajeck. "In the last 10 years, fermentation, koji, all these things have really taken over. And we do a lot of that at Rolf & Daughters, and we have been for a long time. We do a little bit at Folk. Here, we don’t want to totally eschew those ideas, but we want it to be about great sauce making and things that have tradition behind them and take multiple days to prep and get right.”

At Junior, everything is well-thought-out and intentional, like those sauces. The wine list has 150 references — not 600, like you might see elsewhere. The menu is small, with a focus on modern takes on French technique, using thoughtfully sourced ingredients. The kitchen is open to the dining room, so you can see chefs at work. There’s a live fire and a huge stack of wood outside that will be providing a touch of smoke to certain ingredients. The staff will make recommendations, hoping to guide diners through the menu.

“The thing about good restaurants is that you trust them, right?” Krajeck asks. “Our goal is to build trust within the community, to where people will eventually come in and just trust us. There’s a beauty in submission in a restaurant that has a clear perspective on what it’s doing in its content, the lens of the food and the beverage and the service and the way it all works together. This is the sauce for us. Being smaller and being able to spend more time focusing on people who really want to craft that experience that is built around trust.”

The interior features red banquettes, white tablecloths, lacquered wood, a modern ceiling design — a sculptural work in its own right — and delicate stemware. Reservations open 30 days in advance, and a few seats at the bar will be reserved for walk-ins. Junior serves dinner five nights a week, Wednesday through Sunday.