Local Eats: Jones Specialty Foods

Stephen Jones started his food trailer journey after COVID caused his wife to be home from teaching during the lockdown and their family was hit hard financially. He said that’s when he was able to use his creativity along with solving the problem of getting people food during COVID lockdown to start an at-home business of baking and cooking. He started baking pound cakes and selling plate lunches and that’s when he realized that there are protocols that had to be followed to be able to sell out of the house. He contacted the Department of Health and did everything he had to do to become legit. He said he tried to find a brick and mortar, but he said he couldn’t find a location. During his search, he found a food trailer and began operating out of the food trailer in July of this year. He was originally in Patterson, however, he didn’t gain the support he needed to be successful.

That’s when he said Judy and Mike Lewis, owners of Big Mike’s BBQ and now 985 Eats Food Truck Park, saw him on Facebook and invited him to the soon-to-be-opened park. Although the park isn’t going to be open for a while, they still let Stephen put his trailer on the park grounds where he serves up delicious food daily. He took the leap of faith to set up at the park that isn’t officially open yet, but he said the month he has been at the food truck park has been more fruitful than the last couple of years of him cooking.

Stephen was raised by his grandmother who taught him not only how to cook but also instilled life-long lessons that he now passes on to his own children such as how to keep up with house chores, how to be kind and respectful. It’s in his character to keep learning, keep honing his skills, and constantly tries to think of out-of-the-box ideas to further his brand. He also has his own BBQ rub, seafood rub, and a season-all. The name of his line of products is A Pinch More which also stems back to his grandmother, “When we cooked, I would ask her what is the recipe, and she would be like, put a pinch more! And it always stayed with me.” He’s also working on a recipe for an Alabama White BBQ sauce. He said one day, someone asked for the white BBQ sauce instead of the red one, and that got his mind thinking of how he can expand his creativity to create a delicious sauce that will complement his style. His seasonings can be found online at G & J and he also has some at the food truck.

So, all this talk about food, what did I get? Pulled Pork Loaded Fries and his homemade strawberry lemonade! Although I really wanted to try his plate lunch of the day, I couldn’t get past the thought of the loaded fries, and I was not disappointed. I would try to describe the pile of fries I was served, which had everything under the sun on top, but I know pictures tell everything. Taste-wise, everything came together in unison to create a cheesy, smoky, spicy (those jalapenos definitely pulled everything together), and savory lunch that I was glad I made the trip for. Go check out Jone’s Speciality Foods at 985 Eats Food Truck Park located at 302 Trinity Lane in Gray!