Jones Fish Camp: fresh food and family tradition
By James Kmosko
Jones Fish Camp has long been a staple of the Chronicle-Drumsville area. Founded in 1952, the family-run business has been specializing in shrimp, catfish, and flounder for nearly 75 years.
The Chronicle spoke to Garrett Goodson, current owner of the restaurant and grandson of the restaurant’s late founder Bryant Jones.
“My grandmother always told me this story growing up,” Garrett said. “She said, ‘I remember the day your grandpa came home [with] a big old grin on his face and he said, I know what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna open a fish camp. He was just so happy.’”
At the time, Bryant Jones’ father owned the land which now sports the fish camp. Bryant convinced his father to give him the land and help him start the business.
“The first thing he did was build a pay fish pond,” Garrett said. “That little shack down there, that was the bait house where you came in and bought drinks and bait, and paid for the fish.”
The venture was a risk, but when the restaurant opened in 1952, it was met with enormous success.
“When my grandfather first opened [the restaurant], he would take in 150 groups every Friday and Saturday night. Not people, groups. They’d be waiting in the parking lot to get in this place. Sometimes they’d lock the doors at 10 or 11 o’clock with people still trying to come in.”
Garrett’s family involved him in the booming business as soon as he was old enough to carry dishes.
“I’ve been here all my life,” Garrett said. “I started bussing tables when I was 12 and really wasn’t ready, and started working in the kitchen when I was about 13.”
He worked closely with his grandfather who, along with a kitchen employee who still works at the restaurant on Saturdays, taught Garrett everything he needed to know about running the business.
“My grandfather, when I was young working here, took me out on the back steps and said, ‘This is something I always want you to remember: buy good quality on whatever you buy, and you will always have customers.’”
Quality is still a staple of Jones Fish Camp. The restaurant prides itself on carefully selecting its seafood.
“We’ve always believed in serving top quality food,” Garrett said. “It might not be the cheapest, but we’re gonna have the best quality of whatever we’re serving, always … If somebody doesn’t like the food [at coastal restaurants], there’s somebody waiting to take their place. Here, it’s not like that. You’ve gotta have repeat business. We’ve gotta have return customers or we won't be here. We’re not a tourist destination.”
The whole flounder is always sourced fresh from the North Carolina coast.
“A lot of restaurants might claim that, but most of them it’s not true. They ship it in frozen from other countries. But mine, I can claim it and be proud of claiming it, because I know I’m telling the truth.”
What Jones Fish Camp can’t source fresh from somewhere else, they make in house.
“We still make everything,” Garrett said. “The boys back there have been taught by me to make all of our homemade recipes that we’ve always made. We make our own scratch tartar sauce, our own scratch hushpuppies, our slaws are homemade, not a mix.”
The restaurant also prides itself on its family-friendly atmosphere. To maintain this, no alcohol is sold on the premises.
“We did put beer and wine in at one time because people kept asking for it. I took it out; I didn’t hardly sell any. I thought, why mess with it? If a family comes in with their kids, they don’t wanna see someone sitting there drinking beer and wine. Since I took it out eight months ago, I’ve had probably [only] three of four people complain about it. They all can’t get a beer anymore, but they’re still coming.”
Garrett also engages in community outreach for the benefit of families. Once a year, Mountain View Baptist Church hosts a free children's fishing tournament at Jones Lake, complete with games, prizes, and free food.
“I donate the pond, and they put power from the building to the intercom system. They play music, and they’ve got a guy announcing what the kids are catching, and they feed everyone hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza. There’ll be anything from 60 to 80 kids in it, and everyone there’s got at least two parents with them, so there’s a lot of people at that pond.”
The business has had many employees, but those who work at Jones Fish Camp tend to stay there.
“Everybody here is like family,” Garrett said. “The two boys back there now, one of them has been with me for 15 years and one of them has been with me for 13 years. The girl who runs the front of the house, she’s been with me for 13 years now. I’ve known her since she was [a little kid].”
The success of Jones Fish Camp has drawn the attention of other entrepreneurs.
“Over the years, we’ve been approached with other people wanting to buy a franchise. My grandfather never would sell a franchise, because he couldn’t keep it Jones Fish Camp. It’s hard to keep it the way you want it if you’ve got 20 restaurants. He didn’t want his name out there with him not having his hands in the business and knowing what was coming out of the [kitchen].”
Garrett didn’t discount the possibility of building more fish camps someday, but he intends to keep the business in the family.
“I’m third generation and my sons will probably be coming along here shortly,” he said. “I’m happy where I’m at. I make a good living and I know I take care of my customers.”
Jones Fish Camp is located on the Little Mountain near the intersection of NC-16 bypass and NC-16 business. It is open in the afternoon and evening Wednesday through Saturday.