This year, R.S. Jones won in five “Best of Long Island” categories for “Best in Soul/Southern Food,” “Best in Cajun,” “Best Wait Staff,” “Best in BBQ,” and the coveted “Best Restaurant.” “My partner, Carole, is the chef and I run the front of the house. It was a great day,” she said, referring to her wins. “I am most proud of ‘Best Wait Staff.’ I tell the girls all the time: ‘A good server can save a problem with a meal, but a good meal is not going to save a problem with the server.’ We have a nice tight-knit family here. Most of the girls have been here since it opened 24 years ago. They are very good friends and they have been here for double digits.”
For Mueller, working at R.S. Jones is a “labor of love.” “There is a very high mortality rate in this food business, but I love what I do,” she said.
She shared that the restaurant’s name R.S. Jones came from “Rattlesnake Jones.” “We used to serve rattlesnake for a very long time. It’s expensive,” she admitted. “We do serve alligator. We consider ourselves an eclectic Southwestern restaurant.”
Their most popular menu item is the six shooter marinated skirt steak. “It’s a terrific marinated skirt steak, and it is our biggest seller,” she said.
The restaurant is open every day of the week, with the exception of Monday. “We also have a children’s menu, and we do in-house and off-premise catering. We do a couple of parties in the summer where we can supply you with waitresses, bartenders, grill-men and cooks,” she said.
For aspiring restaurant owners, she encouraged them to work in a restaurant in every capacity that they can before they buy their own place. “When somebody doesn’t show up, you can do their job, and you can also know what needs to be done from their end of it. I can think like a waitress, cook, bus person or bartender. I can do all of those jobs if somebody doesn’t show up,” she said.
The key to longevity in the food business is “keeping in fresh, new and loving what I do.” “I have a passion for people, I have a passion and for food and the hospitality business,” she said. “If I wasn’t doing this, I would be throwing parties somewhere.”
Digital Journal’s review of R.S. Jones may be seen here.
To learn more about the award-winning restaurant R.S. Jones, check out their official website and Facebook page.
