A new restaurant called Jones Bones BBQ had a great turnout for its opening day June 16 in downtown Elyria.
Jones Bones BBQ and Grub is owned and operated by Krista and Bryan Jones, who founded their business in 2013.
The restaurant, located at 301 Broad St., is the result of the Jones’ perseverance after starting their business in a food truck years ago, said Krista Jones.
“Our original location was Grafton,” she said. “We started with the food trucks first, and then during the winter time, we would go through our entire savings and start over from ground zero.”
Krista Jones has been a member of the restaurant industry for many years and her husband found himself looking for a new career after suffering an injury as a union painter, forcing him to try a different career path.
“We ended up going to Tennessee where his family is from and serving his grandma’s food and everybody kept complementing it,” she said.
The happy diners told the couple that they’d be interested in buying their food, so with that idea in mind, the Jones family returned to Ohio and started their business venture in search of a food truck, Krista Jones said.
The new restaurant is 1300 square feet and formerly housed the old Cascade café.
“We decided to open in Elyria because we live here and have wanted to help downtown Elyria because this is our hometown,” Krista Jones said. “We tried opening in Elyria several years ago when we opened in Grafton, and it just never worked out.”
The Jones’ have operated a food truck that serves a wide variety of menu items since 2016.
Now, their food can be enjoyed inside their cafeteria-style dining room which seats up to 20 people.
LeighAnn Arroyo, an Elyria resident and community advocate, was one of the first customers June 16 to be served in the new restaurant.
“My experience was beyond five stars,” Arroyo said. “The owners were absolutely wonderful and the customer service was marvelous.”
Arroyo arrived 10 minutes prior to the business opening its doors for the first time to the public.
“I got there at 11:20 a.m.,” she said. “There was a constant line of customers for two hours.
“It was an amazing sight to see. I am so proud to have this beautiful small business in my ward, and I look forward to helping them prosper.”
