diff --git a/spec/context-menu-manager-spec.coffee b/spec/context-menu-manager-spec.coffee
index 821cb115d..29d2d8fa9 100644
--- a/spec/context-menu-manager-spec.coffee
+++ b/spec/context-menu-manager-spec.coffee
@@ -150,3 +150,25 @@ describe "ContextMenuManager", ->
 
       shouldDisplay = false
       expect(contextMenu.templateForEvent(dispatchedEvent)).toEqual []
+
+    it "allows items to be specified in the legacy format for now", ->
+      contextMenu.add '.parent':
+        'A': 'a'
+        'Separator 1': '-'
+        'B':
+          'C': 'c'
+          'Separator 2': '-'
+          'D': 'd'
+
+      expect(contextMenu.templateForElement(parent)).toEqual [
+        {label: 'A', command: 'a'}
+        {type: 'separator'}
+        {
+          label: 'B'
+          submenu: [
+            {label: 'C', command: 'c'}
+            {type: 'separator'}
+            {label: 'D', command: 'd'}
+          ]
+        }
+      ]
diff --git a/src/context-menu-manager.coffee b/src/context-menu-manager.coffee
index 5514cbb65..2386bfef5 100644
--- a/src/context-menu-manager.coffee
+++ b/src/context-menu-manager.coffee
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ class ContextMenuManager
     for key, value of itemsBySelector
       unless _.isArray(value)
         Grim.deprecate("The format for declaring context menu items has changed. Please consult the documentation.")
-        itemsBySelector = @convertLegacyItems(itemsBySelector, devMode)
+        itemsBySelector = @convertLegacyItemsBySelector(itemsBySelector, devMode)
 
     addedItemSets = []
 
@@ -126,22 +126,27 @@ class ContextMenuManager
 
     template
 
-  convertLegacyItems: (legacyItems, devMode) ->
+  convertLegacyItemsBySelector: (legacyItemsBySelector, devMode) ->
     itemsBySelector = {}
 
-    for selector, commandsByLabel of legacyItems
-      itemsBySelector[selector] = items = []
-
-      for label, commandOrSubmenu of commandsByLabel
-        if typeof commandOrSubmenu is 'object'
-          items.push({label, submenu: @convertLegacyItems(commandOrSubmenu, devMode), devMode})
-        else if commandOrSubmenu is '-'
-          items.push({type: 'separator'})
-        else
-          items.push({label, command: commandOrSubmenu, devMode})
+    for selector, commandsByLabel of legacyItemsBySelector
+      itemsBySelector[selector] = @convertLegacyItems(commandsByLabel, devMode)
 
     itemsBySelector
 
+  convertLegacyItems: (legacyItems, devMode) ->
+    items = []
+
+    for label, commandOrSubmenu of legacyItems
+      if typeof commandOrSubmenu is 'object'
+        items.push({label, submenu: @convertLegacyItems(commandOrSubmenu, devMode), devMode})
+      else if commandOrSubmenu is '-'
+        items.push({type: 'separator'})
+      else
+        items.push({label, command: commandOrSubmenu, devMode})
+
+    items
+
   # Public: Request a context menu to be displayed.
   #
   # * `event` A DOM event.
diff --git a/src/menu-helpers.coffee b/src/menu-helpers.coffee
index c47e9ae8b..3341ff16f 100644
--- a/src/menu-helpers.coffee
+++ b/src/menu-helpers.coffee
@@ -42,7 +42,6 @@ normalizeLabel = (label) ->
   else
     label.replace(/\&/g, '')
 
-
 cloneMenuItem = (item) ->
   item = _.pick(item, 'type', 'label', 'command', 'submenu', 'commandDetail')
   if item.submenu?