We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Corey Jones a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Corey, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

My name is Corey L. Jones and I am the sole Owner/Operator of Jonesnyourbones BBQ catering located in the Twin Cities. My journey began as a young boy watching my father grill for the neighborhood kids, along with my grandmother cooking for my sister and me. We grew up in a neighborhood that was trusting enough for kids to frequently be outside and play. My sister and I (and many friends alike) would rush into our homes telling our parents how hungry we were. The response was always the same, “go back out and play and I will call you when it’s time to eat! Once we were called back in if we ever dared to ask the question “what is this?” We were promptly given a response of “It’s FOOD, NOW SHUT UP AND EAT!” Thus, being how my business slogan was born. My passion for BBQ has inspired me to bring back the nostalgic taste of my childhood to my customers.

Corey, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Our mission is to provide the Twin Cities with an out-of-this-world barbeque experience. Jonesnyourbones BBQ Catering, LLC. maintains a simple business philosophy: use only the highest quality products, prepare them in a clean environment and serve them with a friendly attitude. We have built a reputation for fresh, made-to-order quick service with friendly well-trained staff. Jonesnyourbones BBQ Catering, LLC. offers a wide variety of reasonably priced barbeque. The primary dishes are chicken wings, beef brisket and BBQ jerk chicken pineapple bowl, but patrons will have the option to customize how they want their barbeque prepared. Jonesnyourbones BBQ Catering, LLC. currently accepts cash, debit cards and credit cards. Credit cards and debit cards are processed through Square’s credit card reader.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

My business consist of an outdoor food stand, which is a whole outdoor kitchen. Within that I have a 10 x 10 tent as well so one of the main things that’s very hard to do is determine the amount of food that I’m going to serve outside as well as try to keep up with what may happen in regards to the weather. Two years ago, I was a outside vendor across the street from the Minnesota state fair and learned a lot within that time. One of the things I’ve learned is that I need to find capitol to purchase a food trailer in order to be able to battle with the elements. One of the things that happened during that time was the first three days it rained, and there was 55 mph winds so for the first three days my tent was knocked down and in the neighbors yard . My tent was broken into pieces but luckily I had the help of not only my son Zion but also other vendors around me that helped me put my tent back together, or borrowed me their own tent so that I could continue to serve great smoked BBQ. It was very stressful and draining because I put so much work into preparing for that and it felt like it was all crashing down on me at once but instead of giving up, I prayed and let God do the work. So because of that, I was able to still offer great smoked barbecue to my customers. You really have to not only love what you do but have a resilient passion for it because you will have trials and tribulations along the way. Everyday you are allowed the blessing of waking up is another day to be prosperous. Believe in everything you pray for and watch God work.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

I think what helped me was being at the Minneapolis Farmers Market Annex for almost 3 years. Within that time I was able to connect with some great people and the face to face networking was amazing. I believe my customers liked being able to see me cook their food right in front of them (especially the BBQ jerk chicken pineapple bowl.) Also, the smell of Applewood flowing through the crowd and having people come up to me saying they could smell my food across the highway was great to hear because they just followed the smoke. Building those relationships with customers allowed me the opportunity to do more festivals and catering events which still continues today and I’m very appreciative of that.

Contact Info:

• Website: Jonesnyourbones.com
• Instagram: @jonesnyourbones
• Facebook: Corey Jones or Jonesnyourbonesbbq catering

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