J. Fall Group

In 2014, Fall met Henry Costa at Costa's West Hollywood sausage-centric restaurant, Link. In 2016, after sharing their respective restaurant and hospitality visions and aspirations, Fall partnered with the Costa, a Wall Street investment banker-turned-chef and restaurateur to co-found the J. Fall Group hospitality enterprise.^[23] Fall managed the J. Fall Group's creative decisions as well as branding and marketing while Costa headed the company's finance and operations.^[23]

In November 2016, the duo opened the J. Fall Group's first concept, Tinfoil Liquor & Grocery, in Highland Park in Los Angeles.^[24][25] The New York City-inspired core concept included a street-front liquor store with a secret password required speakeasy deli in the rear of the establishment.^[23]

In November 2017, the J. Fall Group, expanding upon the Nighthawk brand, opened Nighthawk: AM, a daytime fast-casual restaurant to complement the original late-night restaurant, in Chicago.^[26] Fall later opened a second Nighthawk: AM location in the Beverly Center in Los Angeles.^[27]

In July 2018, Easy's Burger moved locations, rebranded to “Easy’s” and opened a full-service bar and restaurant with a ‘90s diner ambiance in the Beverly Center Mall between Beverly Hills and West Hollywood.^[28][29]

In August 2018, Fall and the J. Fall Group partnered with United Talent Agency to open the atmospherically rock-and-roll Paperboy Pizza in the Gallery Food Hall in Santa Monica, California.^[30]

By 2019, Fall had opened a total of 14 restaurant locations around the United States.^[31] That year, In 2019, Los Angeles-based K2 Restaurants acquired the J. Fall Group and its existing restaurant brands, Nighthawk Breakfast Bar, Nighthawk: A.M., Tinfoil: Liquor & Grocery, Paperboy Pizza, and Easy’s, as well as then-upcoming and now-opened restaurant brands, Italian-themed Chapter, and Jukebox, to be located within Chapter in Waco, Texas.^[1][2] Fall remained onboard as the creative director of the brands in year following the acquisition.^[29]

In 2019, following the K2 acquisition of the J. Fall Group, Fall and Costa opened 1980s-themed chicken tender restaurant, McFly’s Bird Shoppe, and the 1990s-themed Americana bar and restaurant, Unplugged, (named after the MTV show, adjacent to one another in Five Points Lane in Birmingham, Alabama.^[23]

Other restaurant and food ventures

In 2018, Fall’s chicken sandwich was featured on menus at the Blue Ribbon restaurant locations.^[32]

In August 2019, Fall opened his newest restaurant, Mixtape, in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles.^[33] Reflecting Fall’s heritage, Mixtape’s menu features elements of Tunisian, Caribbean, Jewish, and French cuisine.^[33] The restaurant exhibits various visual art contributions from artists such as Quincy Jones, Jaden Smith, Vic Mensa, Brandon Boyd of Incubus, Tokimonsta, and Serj Tankian, as well as custom weekend brunch playlists compiled by Robin Thicke.^[5] Fall collaborated with rapper, Phora, to design the uniforms for Mixtape staff.^[34]

In 2021, Fall’s “J. Fall Blvd. Sandwich” became a featured item on the famous restaurant chain Mel’s Drive-In’s menu.^[35] Fall and Mel’s Diner also partnered to release for sale t-shirts featuring both Fall and Mel’s.^[35]

Fall has worked with the James Beard Foundation to prepare meals for the Foundation’s dinner events.^[23]

Television and media

Fall has appeared on several network food and cooking television shows since 2016. In 2016, Bravo’s digital series, Going Off the Menu, featured Fall and his restaurant, Tinfoil, in an episode.^[36][6] In 2017, Fall appeared on two Guy Fieri-hosted Food Network shows – first, “The Bite” episode of Guy’s Big Project; and later, the “Breakfast, Brisket and Belly” episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, which featured Fall in his Nighthawk: Breakfast Bar kitchen.^[37][38] Fall also Hallmark Channel’s Home & Family and the Food Network’s Food Network Star.^[6]

In 2021, Fall launched his self-hosted podcast, Dinner Party, releasing the premiere episode on June 23, 2021, with actor, host, and comedian, Lamorne Morris, as the podcast’s inaugural guest.^[3] The podcast centers around discussions of culture, mental health, and creativity.^[39]

In 2021, Fall partnered with Grammy-winning artist, Miguel, to executive produce his first series, Beats for Breakfast, which airs on Facebook Watch. Starring both Fall and Miguel, each episode of Beats for Breakfast features Fall cooking a recipe while Miguel simultaneously creates new music beside Fall in the kitchen. According to Fall, the program originated from Miguel, when visiting Fall's Nighthawk restaurant, sharing the concept of a show in which Miguel made beats in his kitchen as Fall brought recipes to life. Episodes of Beats for Breakfast, including the show's first eight episodes, are posted on Miguel's Facebook page each Wednesday.^[39]

Partnerships, endorsements, and other business ventures

In 2018, Fall became the first chef and restaurateur to sign with and be managed by Jay-Z's Roc Nation.^[23] Fall is also represented by United Talent Agency.^[40]

In 2018, Fall collaborated with the streetwear subscription box company, ThreadBeast, to curate a 1990s-themed box, which included a “food porn” viewmaster with images from his restaurants.^[23]

In 2021, Fall founded his own media company, jfall, through which he produced and currently operates his Dinner Party podcast.^[41][18]

Posting and sharing many of his food creations, Fall has built a presence across social media platforms, including one million followers of his Instagram account. He has leveraged this following and influence to land multiple corporate partnerships, including partnering with Mr. Holmes Bakehouse and American Express, to feature Fall’s “spiked cereal milk doughnuts” creation as well as another Mr. Holmes Bakehouse collaboration starring his “Just Try It” croissant-Cuban sandwich fusion.^[42]