Jack & Mom’s brings breakfast, seafood dining to former Southern Bell’s location in Carpentersville

The story behind Jack & Mom’s Breakfast and Mariscos (Seafood), the newly opened restaurant in Carpentersville, can be traced back to a breakfast Jack Wu and his mom, Fanny Kwok-Ng, shared one July morning.

As Jack tells it, the pair were dining at Southern Belle’s Pancake House at 152 S. Western Ave. — now home to their restaurant — and reminiscing about the China Buffet restaurant the family once operated in the same strip mall location, across from what had been the Spring Hill Mall.

The server overheard some of their conversation and told them Southern Belle’s was for sale. The next thing they knew, they were speaking with the owner, who opened Southern Belle’s there in 2017.

“After talking to him for a bit, my mom said, ‘Let’s do it,’” Wu recalled. “We signed a lease Oct. 1.”

That brought things full circle to 2001, when Wu was just 6 years old and his family moved to northern Kane County from New York City to open China Buffet at the suggestion of his mother’s family.

It operated there for about 15 years. Over that time, his mother had a number of entrepreneurial adventures, opening restaurants and other businesses and frequently flipping them or handing them off to extended family members, Wu said.

Among them were Asian Tokyo on Randall Road in Algonquin, now a nail salon; Kobe Japanese Steakhouse, also on Randall in Algonquin, which Wu’s mother sold; Asian-styled Elgin Buffet on South McLean Boulevard in Elgin, which the family has owned and operated for 17 years; Crystal Lake Buffet (formerly One Buffet), which another family member runs now; Fanny’s Thai Roll Ice Cream in Elgin (which was sold) and in Chicago, with which Kwok-Ng remains involved.

Wu said his mother sold China Buffet to another family member, who rebranded it Dragon Buffet, ran it for a time in Spring Hill Mall, and a few years ago moved it Route 31 in West Dundee, near the village’s public safety center.

“My mother is very confident in the restaurant space,” Wu said.

Wu was living in Kansas City when his mother called him a few years ago, asking him to return to the area to help her revamp her latest purchase — Elgin Lanes near Elgin Community College. The bowling alley recently hosted a ribbon-cutting to officially unveil its renovations.

Kwok-Ng said having so much on her plate is just who she is.

“People call me a workaholic,” she said with a laugh.

Plans for Jack & Mom’s include expanding the nonalcoholic beverage bar to make it into a full-service bar offering alcohol, adding TVs to show sports, building a stage area for music and upgrading the kitchen. Those moves will lead to them adding the “mariscos” side of the business and expanding to dinner service starting sometime in early 2027, Wu said.

Kwok-Ng said she’s enjoyed Mexican-style seafood places in Elgin and the entertainment they provide, which inspired her ideas for Jack & Mom’s at night. Wu said his brother Vincent is the chef and will incorporate Mexican and Asian fusion dishes to the dinner menu.

When the changes are in place, the restaurant will keep their breakfast and lunch hours, close in the afternoon and then reopen in the evening for dinner.

Kwok-Ng said the keys to successfully running the business is providing quality and consistency; having a friendly staff; maintaining a welcoming, clean space; and serving food at reasonable prices.

For now, Jack & Mom’s is using trial and error in determining what to keep from Southern Belle’s menu and what to add of their own.

Popular items so far include a variety of skillets and wraps, the crispy chicken sandwich, cornbread and Cajun-style shrimp and grits.

A portion of the menu is called “Doujin’s Specials,” named after Wu’s dog, and there are menu items like Yuki’s turkey wrap and Momo’s southwest-style salad, bearing the names of his two cats, who are featured on the restaurant’s AI-generated menu cover.

The two owners said the restaurant’s name and their pet-related touches are intended to show Jack & Mom’s is a family-friendly, family-run business.

“It’s a home feel,” Kwok-Ng said.

Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The (Elgin) Courier-News.