Long Nine Junction to return downtown

A restaurant is returning to downtown Springfield with the same name and location, but a slightly different format.

Corey and Emily Faucon operated Long Nine Junction for nearly four years at 5 Old State Capitol Plaza before closing in February 2021. The couple then moved to Petersburg and have been involved in several culinary ventures there.

“We had originally planned to do a supper club, and that kind of fell through,” said Emily Faucon. “Then we were asked to join the Broadgauge team, and that was a very large project.”

After being part of the Broadgauge launch, the couple then opened Mom + Pop’s, a modern diner-style restaurant.

“Corey and I realized we like to be our own bosses, so we branched off and started our own restaurant again,” Faucon said.

After three years of operations, Mom + Pop’s will close Sept. 26 as the Faucons prepare to move back to Springfield and come full circle.

Faucon said the timing was fortuitous since the lease for Mom + Pop’s was not going to be renewed, due to their landlord selling the building. The couple were pondering other possible locations when they learned that The Wakery, the business that had taken over Long Nine Junction’s previous space in downtown Springfield, was closing.

“We’ve always been big advocates of downtown Springfield, and we know it’s somewhat struggling,” Faucon said. “It just feels like this is where we should be.”

The space has been physically modified since Long Nine Junction previously occupied it, and Faucon said the concept has changed slightly as well.

“It will be a simplified, trim menu,” she said. “But we’ll still have fresh, made-from-scratch bread, baked goods, oven-roasted meats and our signature sides. You’ll come up and order at the counter and we’ll prepare it in front of you.”

Faucon said that after several years of running a large restaurant, the couple wanted to transition to a concept they could manage on their own.

“It’s just hard to keep up with the staff that it requires to facilitate a 50-table restaurant,” Faucon said, referring to Mom + Pop’s. “We’ve had tons of support – almost more than we could handle. It’s time to hone in on what we love to do and what’s sustainable for us moving forward.”

Faucon said the new format for Long Nine Junction will allow the couple to be up front interacting with customers.

“I’ve missed seeing people; I’ve been back in the kitchen the last three years,” she said. “And we won’t have to worry about employing multiple people.”

Long Nine Junction will be open from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and Faucon said the limited hours are intentional.

“We feel like there’s a void for lunch restaurants – there’s a great need for that downtown, and we want to help bring people back downtown,” she said. “We also do catering, and that keeps us busy on the weekends.”

Faucon said they are closing on a house in Springfield later this month and hope to have the restaurant open by mid-November.

“This is our pride and joy, and it’s our livelihood,” she said. “We want to do something that brings us joy and brings other people joy, too.”

This article appears in SBJ September 2025.