A restaurant knows it’s doing something right if it is able to expand in a down economy.

Jessica’s Family Restaurant, expecting more business in the future, will expand its current space into a building next door.

Located at 140 W. Main St. in downtown Whitewater, Jessica’s is owned by Ilmi Shabani.  Ilmi recently bought the building where Wall Crawler’s Rock Climbing Gym used to be.

Urim Shabani, Ilmi’s son, said the building was made available to buy at the perfect time.

“It was a good opportunity,” Urim Shabani said.

Urim and his father both decided to expand their restaurant.

“[On] weekends, we have a bigger crowd,” Urim Shabani said.  “We usually have people waiting at the door.  It would be nice if we could get a bigger side over there.”

The current space has about 16 booths and three large tables.  The entrance to Jessica’s will remain in the same vicinity but will be pushed closer to Main Street.

The new space will have about 80 seats and a large banquet hall in the back, along with a back room and spacious bathrooms  There will also be a long diner bar.

The addition still has a long way to go before being completed.  Urim Shabani said he was not sure what the new space is going to look like.

“It’s going to look nice,” Urim Shabani added with a laugh.

There is city parking around Jessica’s, so parking is not really an issue for the business.

“If people like the place, they will find a place to park,” Urim Shabani said.

When a restaurant expands, it typically requires more employees.  Urim Shabani said he expects to hire more waitresses.