J.T. Bros opens in restored Yuma building, grand opening Saturday

A family-owned restaurant, J.T. Bros, opened its doors in a restored historic building at 2630 S 4th Avenue, near 26th Street, with a chamber-backed ribbon cutting on April 9 and an official grand opening celebration scheduled for Saturday at 11 a.m., when the first 100 guests will receive a free sandwich. Owner Chef Alex Trujillo led the ribbon cutting and framed the move into downtown as a family milestone and a civic reinvestment.

The Trujillo family operates J.T. Bros as a day-to-night concept: J.T. Bros serves sandwiches, salads, steaks and pasta during daytime hours, while JT Prime Kitchen & Cocktails provides expanded dinner service with fresh pasta, from-scratch desserts and cocktails at its related location. J.T. Bros lists its Yuma address as 2630 S 4th Avenue, Yuma, AZ 85364, a public phone number of (928) 955-0024, and hours of operation Monday through Saturday, 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. JT Prime’s Yuma listing cites 714 E 32nd St. and phone (928) 955-0076 for night service and catering inquiries.

The new business is explicitly family-run: the owners list Chef Alex Trujillo, his wife Roxy and their three sons as founders, and the family has positioned J.T. Bros as a “chef inspired & scratch kitchen and bistro” with on-site catering capacity. The Yuma County Chamber of Commerce included the April 9 ribbon cutting as a formal event, signaling local small-business support for the opening and linking the launch to downtown economic networks.

The building’s rehabilitation sits in the city’s larger preservation framework: Yuma’s Historic Preservation and Architectural Design staff and the Design and Historic Review Commission oversee restorations in a city that contains more than 40 properties individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Reusing a restored 4th Avenue storefront aligns with municipal priorities to balance architectural integrity and economic reuse of contributing structures in historic districts.

Chef Trujillo said opening the restaurant in the restored building fulfilled a family dream and was a way to “give back” to the community. For local stakeholders, measurable success in the next six to 12 months will mean steady JT Prime dinner bookings, regular catering contracts tied to the family operation, and visibly higher weekday pedestrian counts on 4th Avenue, indicators that a single restoration can translate into jobs, foot traffic and follow‑on reinvestment.

Downtown merchants and city planners will be watching whether J.T. Bros’ Monday–Saturday 7 a.m.–9 p.m. schedule, its catering pipeline and JT Prime’s evening service can convert an initial ribbon cutting and a free-sandwich grand opening into sustained economic momentum for historic Downtown Yuma.