By Jim Breslin
As you drive along Route 202 north of Baltimore Pike, there’s a mysterious new restaurant just opened back away from the road. J Marie’s Speakeasy and SupperClub is reminiscent of the prohibition era’s private clubs, from a time when Route 202 was a country drive past farmsteads and woods. We recently pulled in and checked it out.
J Marie’s Speakeasy and SupperClub sits in the building which used to host Antonio’s Italian Restaurant. About a year ago, Marie Cantatore and her partner Jon Rusakova, turned the space into Olive Branch II, hoping to extend their popular downtown West Chester eatery Olive Branch. 
Now, they’ve changed themes and created a destination restaurant with live entertainment and fine food and drink.
As we entered the restaurant, a pianist softly played the standards on a baby grand piano. The walls are painted red and thick curtains give a clandestine ambiance to the space, as if you are in a true speakeasy during the prohibition era.
But what is really spectacular is the food. Marie knows how to cook. Once seated, we were brought an assortment of cheeses with crackers and campanada while we looked over the extensive menu.
To start, I ordered the Clams Casino, which are purportedly made using Marie’s secret family recipe. My date tried the Tomato Bruschetta, which was fresh and accented with basil on crisp slices of roll.
For the main course, I enjoyed the succulent Shrimp LeJon. Huge pieces of shrimp wrapped with bacon and stuffed with a combinationof Parmesan cheese and horseradish sauce gave this dish the perfect kick. As a side dish, I ordered the Lobster Mac n’ Cheese. Large chunks of lobster balanced the creamy cheese very nicely, making this a classic dish.
As we ate the piano player ran through a repertoire of classic songs, including “What a Wonderful World.” The piano was a great accompaniment to the meal, and we enjoyed naming the songs as he played through a medley.
My date raved about the Stuffed Pork Tenderloins. For a side dish, she tried the Creamed Corn which was spectacularly fresh, with the corn still being crisp in the creamy sauce.
For dessert, we tried Marie’s famous Red Velvet Cake, which Marie makes with a special white chocolate chipotle icing. This dessert, which is served often at Olive Branch, has won the WC Dish dessert competition in the past. The key lime cheesecake was also particularly creamy.
J Marie’s features a piano player on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.
After supper, Marie gave us a tour and discussed her plans for other spaces. She is putting the finishing touches on a private room with a table that seats 12 to 14 people. This space will be nice for families or companies
that would like to hold special events. Marie is also planning to book farmhouse type meals in this space. In the fall, she plans to open a speakeasy in the basement, a large relaxing getaway space which will have couches and a fireplace in addition to a full bar.
One of the most popular attractions at J Marie’s has been a Frank Sinatra impersonator, who croons in the main restaurant on select Saturday nights. He performs this Saturday, July 9th and also July 23rd. Call (610) 455-0115 for times and reservations.
