“YOU’RE HIRED”

By Emily Rubin

Excerpt from: All THE RESTAURANTS IN NEW YORK

Great Jones Café 

54 Great Jones Street

(1983-2018)

I was the first waitress of the Great Jones Cafe, or the Jones, as it is still affectionately known.  It was June of 1983.  My friends Phil Hartman and Rich Kresberg were the new owners, and with all the preparation for the opening–construction, decorating, figuring out the menu, hiring the chef, bartender, and dishwasher, they had not hired the wait staff.  I had been hanging around helping with the setting up.

            “How about me?” I asked. 

            “You’re hired,” Rich and Phil said without hesitation.

We toasted my new job with Cajun Martinis—vodka infused with jalapeno peppers. Hot, smooth, peppery, fiery.  We were experimenting with various recipes of the signature cocktail. With only 11 tables they figured one waitress could handle the floor.  That was fine for the first couple of weeks, but then the word got out: The Great Jones is the spot—a little bit of New Orleans in New York.  Jambalaya, Étouffée, Oyster Po-Boys! Good food and a jukebox filled with Dr. John, the Neville Brothers, and the Meters. It got very busy, very quickly.

            Soon more wait staff came on board and the Jones family grew.  We ate, drank, and danced (often on the tables) with patrons, many of whom hung out until the wee hours.  It was one of the best restaurant gigs I ever had.  At the end of a shift I was tired on my feet, but the pockets of my apron filled with tips.  

–Emily Rubin

Postscript

The kids that might have resulted following a night of fun in the early days of the Great Jones Café would be old enough to have kids of their own by now, but word is they are still dancing on the tables.

Excerpt courtesy of  John Donohue
https://alltherestaurants.com/pages/all-the-restaurants-in-new-york