LINN  — Twisted Pickles has been a growing business in Jamestown for the last 21 months, and owners Doug and Deanna Harris — who purchased BJ’s Restaurant and Lounge from Scot Drinkard — will open Twisted Pickles 2.0 on the Square in Linn soon. While BJ’s is scheduled to close today (Wednesday, June 28), there is no timeline yet for the opening of Twisted Pickles 2.0.

“We don’t have an exact date, with state licensing and other things, but we hope to have it up and running as soon as possible,” Doug said.

BJ’s owner Scot Drinkard, who announced the restaurant would close on June 28, said he’s pleased to see Twisted Pickles take over. “This worked out well for everyone,” he added. “They will bring a ton of energy to the Linn community, with great atmosphere and great food.”

The parties entered a three-year lease on the building, with the option to renew or purchase the property and contents in 2026.

There is a lot of similarity between the menu offered by Twisted Pickles and what BJ’s served. “We’ll bring our menu to Linn.”

In addition to a large variety of appetizers, including fried pickle chips and spears, Buffalo chicken dip, and stuffed nachos, Twisted Pickles 2.0 will offer pizza, burgers, sandwiches, and wraps. Dinner options include chicken strips, hamburger steak, and grilled or fried shrimp; there’s a kids’ menu for those 12 and under.

All menu options will be served in the restaurant and the bar. “People can get the same food on either side,” Doug noted.

The restaurant side will be non-smoking, while the bar will be a smoking; Doug and Deanna will be installing three large smoke-eaters to eliminate the smoke smell.

“People won’t have to walk through the smoking section to get to the restaurant,” Doug said.

Drinkard likes the idea. “It’s good to have ideas from other people,” he said. “It’s easy to get tunnel vision and not think about change.”

There will be some remodeling as the kitchen is expanded after the old bar will be removed. Doug noted that the Jamestown business is about 4,000 square feet, and BJ’s has a combined space of approximately 9,500 square feet between the bar and restaurant.

Instead of having a pool table on the restaurant side in the old bar, Twisted Pickles 2.0 will have five tables in the full bar. Doug said he plans to have weekly pool tournaments, likely on Thursdays. That’s when Twisted Pickles in Jamestown holds its weekly tournaments. “We have a lot of weekly activities that anyone can enjoy,” Doug added.

He plans to bring music or extreme bar Bingo to Linn, along with trivia nights and Twisted Karaoke on Fridays.

Some of the karaoke will be done in-house, and at other times, there will be a DJ brought in; the same applies to trivia nights.

“On Saturdays through the winter, we plan to have live music, and during the summer, when it slows down, maybe once a month,” Doug said.

Doug and Deanna said they are happy to move into the Linn area. “We had a five-year plan and had talked about expanding,” Doug said. “We decided this was a good time to take on the challenge.”

Among Drinkard’s multiple businesses are ATMs and gaming, so Doug and Deanna Harris know him.

“We saw a post on Facebook about BJ’s closing and talked to him about it,” Doug said. “Scot has been really helpful with the transition.”

Drinkard agrees. “We were friends before this and I still own some equipment and will handle ATM and gaming for them, so I’ll be around,” he said. “I think they’ll do very well.”

Doug and Deanna have offered current BJ’s employees the option to continue working at the restaurant. “Two or three people had already made other plans, but most will remain at the restaurant,” Doug said. “Anyone who wants to stay has been offered the chance. Employees are hard to come by, so it makes sense to have them continue working for us.”

One big difference is that Twisted Pickles 2.0 will not have a hostess. “You can sit wherever you want, and our servers will come over and take care of you,” Doug said.

Follow Twisted Pickles 2.0 on Facebook for updates.