Business Q&A: RS Jones

For 19 years, RS Jones has kept the spirit of the South alive and well in the middle of Merrick.

With its down-home Southern cooking and attitude, RS Jones has developed a strong following throughout the years, becoming something of an icon in Nassau County.

Owner Margaret Mueller recently spoke with Patch about serving up a little Southern hospitality (along with some alligator) to Merokeans during the past two decades.

Tell us about what kind of restaurant RS Jones is and what some of your specialties are.

We are an eclectic Southwestern-style restaurant. We cover pretty much the whole South. We do a little bit of Louisiana, a little bit of Texas, a little bit of Southern California.

As far as specialties go, we do the six shooter, which is a marinated skirt steak, and we do a great chicken fried steak. We have some familiar things, like pork chops, steaks, and pasta, and we have some unfamiliar things, like catfish, alligator and snake. Some very unique things.

What’s your background? Did you have experience in the restaurant field prior to starting RS Jones?

No, we started the restaurant for the love of country music. No one was doing country food and I came from a cajun restaurant where they did cajun food and music, so I said let’s do country food and music. And that’s what we do. We have live Southern music every Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and we do Southern food and hospitality.

Aside from the live music, do you hold any other events in your restaurant?

One of our big events of the year is out pig roast, which is Sept. 30 this year. It’s a big event. We roast four pigs and we have a live rockabilly band. Nobody else does that on Long Island.

You have a lot of interesting items and knick-knacks on the walls. How long did it take you to gather all that stuff?

It was not hard at all. Customers have brought in most of the decor. All the license plates, all the cowboy boots, all the hats, sombreros, plus there are pictures of customers all over the walls! Got any souvenirs from the South that are gathering dust in your home? Bring them here, we’ll hang them up!

Do you have any other business ventures in the works?

It’s just the one location right now, but I’d love to open up another one out on Eastern Long Island, but right now that’s just in the planning stages. But that’s a dream of mine.

What do you like about owning and operating a business in the Merrick area?

I like being part of the community. The community supports us and we support the community. It makes me feel like I’m part of something, and I like that.