New eatery featuring Japanese and Indonesian dishes opens in White Oaks Mall food court

Hariantono “Hari” Santoso spent two decades mastering Japanese food preparation in fine dining establishments scattered from the East Coast to Las Vegas.

But he chose a more lowbrow destination for his first restaurant.

“I bring fine dining experience at a food court price,” Santoso said of Java Island Kitchen, which he and his wife Nopembrin “Novie” Santoso opened in the White Oaks Mall food court in November.

“I bring the good ingredients from all the places I’ve worked over the years. I make customers happy with these high-quality ingredients while keeping the cost down.”

The menu at Java Island Kitchen offers an extensive selection of made-to-order Japanese and Indonesian cuisine. Selections range from hibachi bowls to poke bowls, sushi to chicken satay, udon noodles to gyozas.

Java Island Kitchen is open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday. Phone: (217) 572-1213.

Taco Joint has new home

The Taco Joint finally has moved to its new home at 710 South Grand Ave. E.

The popular Mexican fusion joint began operating from the former Rally's building on Dec. 8 on the heels of closing the shed it operated from five blocks away in the parking lot of 230 South Grand Ave. E.

“(The Taco Joint) started as a small thing wanting to venture into new flavors of Mexican food . . . each season we brought new things, new flavors and improved the look of the joint,” read a Dec. 1 Facebook post that announced the closing of the original location.

“Each year we gained more attention for being the off-the-path taco spot that didn’t look like much, but the food did all the talking.”

The Taco Joint is known for blending the cultural lines dividing cuisines with items like the birria pizza and chorizo-chicken egg rolls.

The move has long been anticipated ever since The Taco Joint’s signature orange, teal and marigold vertical stripes first appeared on the shuttered Rally’s building last March.

The drive-through hamburger joint – known for its signature Big Buford – closed in 2022 after three decades of operating from the address just south of Springfield’s downtown district.

Posted hours for The Taco Joint’s new location are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Services include a drive-through window, a walk-up counter, and outdoor seating.

More: Pizza pub to open with new twists on classic pies in neighborhood bar setting

Relocation confirmed

Starbucks shut its doors at 2003 W. Monroe St. last week with a representative for the coffee chain saying only that the new store in Fairhills Mall is set to open in late December.

“We are happy to share that we are relocating our store at 2003 W. Monroe St. in Springfield, Ill. to 1901 W. Monroe St. in Springfield, Ill.,” according to an emailed response from the Seattle-based coffee chain to queries about the opening date for the location.

“The new store will open in late December and our last day at the previous location was Dec. 8. All Starbucks partners working at that store will transfer to the new store.”

This was the first time Starbucks confirmed the new Fairhill’s standalone facility was replacing the existing Starbucks that has operated from the same intersection since 2005.

Cafe may stay open

The future of the Morningstar Mercantile & Cafe in Salisbury might not be dimming after all.

Owner Pat Adamski said the eatery will complete its 25th year in business with its regularly scheduled seasonal close on Dec. 31. And she’s taking a wait-and-see outlook on whether the business will reopen in the spring, despite announcing this fall the cafe was closing.

“I lost my staff in August when they all went off to college and thought that was a good sign it was time to close,” Adamski said. “But since then, I’ve had others offer to help so we’re going to continue to the end of December, close for our winter break, and in the spring, we might just keep going.”

Adamski said her options include continuing operations at the Salisbury address, located on State Highway 97, relocate the business to a smaller spot, or retire.

For now, the cafe is open from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Specials for December include broccoli-chicken crepes, carrot cake, and Tollhouse pie.

Get on the list

Area restaurants serving New Year’s Eve dinner specials will be featured in the Dec. 24 column. Local establishments preparing fetes to ring in 2024 should submit information by Dec. 18

The A La Carte column highlights restaurant openings, closings, renovations, and relocations, as well as personnel changes and business news. Natalie Morris can be reached at 737-7254 or by email at natalie.sjr@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Java Island Kitchen open at White Oaks Mall