Jay’s way

It started off in a tiny, former hot dog stand, but 53 years later, Jay’s Bar-B-Q is still rolling, one of the oldest restaurants in town.

Jay Prothro, 74, a one-time convenience store owner, launched his simple barbecue joint in 1954 in order to support his wife and three children. “We still do things the same way,” says daughter Connie Newton, who now owns Jay’s on Sherwood Forest Boulevard with her husband, Rick. “We try to be consistent with the sauce, the sandwiches, and the way we get to know and serve our customers.”

Jay’s is famous for sweet-and-tangy barbecue sauce, finely chopped, ever-so-oniony coleslaw, and hickory-smoked meats draped over po-boy bread. “Our top sellers are the sliced beef, the sliced pork and the chopped beef—in that order,” says Newton. Ribs, hamburgers, homemade potato salad and baked beans round out the menu, which has been tweaked only slightly over the last half century.

Prothro retired from barbecue more than 20 years ago, leaving the Newtons to run the Sherwood shop, and Milton LeBlanc to run the familiar Government Street location established in 1960. LeBlanc’s father, Floyd, was an early Jay’s employee, starting as a cook and ultimately managing the restaurant. “Mr. Floyd” was a restaurant jack-of-all-trades, says Newton, and he bought the Government Street shop from Prothro in 1981.

Jay’s on Government hasn’t changed much over the years. The Mid City spot’s ample counter is packed at lunch with diners ordering po-boys, sandwiches and burgers. “I eat here every day,” says LeBlanc. “Ours is just the best.”

The two Jay’s have been exclusively family-run ventures, a trend that will likely continue. LeBlanc plans to begin grooming his son to eventually take over, and the Newtons’ son, Rich, is in line at their store. Newton says the family once toyed with franchising the restaurant, but never felt good about it.

“We’re just so hands on,” she says. “The one thing we really push is you have to take care of your customers.”