For 15 years, Richmond resident Jim Burns dreamed of opening his own restaurant. As a longtime delivery driver for a local food distributor, Jim spent many days on the road, scoping out possible locations and thinking about what he’d put on his menu. Then one day, in March of 2021, Jim noticed a small building was available on Route 138 in Voluntown, Connecticut, on the Exeter/Hopkinton border. He called the landlord, signed a three-year lease, and began buying up cooking equipment and other supplies with a few credit cards and 30-thousand dollars he had in savings.
“I thought this was my chance,” Jim said. “I’m going to be 57-years-old this year. This, to me, was my shot. So I said, ‘I’m just going to do it and let the cards fall where they go.’”
Jim was hoping to open in the summer, but was unable to because of major structural problems with the building. It also took his landlord a couple of months to install a new fume hood and fire suppression system. Finally, last September, Jim opened his doors to the public. J&J’s Pizza Shack is a diner-style restaurant that serves up comfort food like burgers, chicken tenders, and pizza. The walls are filled with vinyl records and old movie posters. It was a rough go early on; Jim had trouble keeping up with customer orders, and he often had to forego his own paycheck to compensate his waitstaff. Then, this past February, the furnace failed, forcing him to temporarily shut down.
“People were eating breakfast in their winter coats,” Jim said. “It was 50 (degrees) in here. That’s when I said I got to close for a little bit and figure this out. So now, September’s not that far away. You know those crispy mornings are coming. I’m not going to ask people to eat breakfast in their coats again. We’ve got to get it fixed.”
Jim says he’s confident the landlord will replace the furnace by the end of August. But even if that happens, the rising cost of food is becoming a more pressing concern. Jim says the price of a case of bacon has gone up by 20% in recent months; he goes through two cases a week at $95 each. Cooking oil is up 30%; it’s costing him $110 a week. As a result, Jim has increased his dish prices by a dollar. For the most part, he says his customers have been understanding, at least so far.
“These are good people,” Jim said. “They’re hard-working people. They know I would never raise (prices) because I’m driving a Lexus, you know? I drive a pickup, just like they do.”
As the owner of a small-town restaurant, Jim gets to know his customers on a personal level, which has helped him retain a significant number of loyal regulars. He also gets business from out-of-towners who are staying at the local campgrounds. But while he’s enjoyed some early success, he’s worried about having to raise dish prices again if the cost of food continues to go up.
“My biggest fear is that I have to raise the prices beyond what this town will pay,” Jim said. “Because when you make those raises, sometimes the people will just take it, but other times, they’re going to be like ‘Hey, we’re getting hurt, too. We can’t afford it.’ One more increase across the board will do it for me. I’ll be in big trouble. That’s when I’ll know maybe it’s not gonna work.”
Jim says he’s not afraid of what the future holds. He had a severe heart attack in 2014 and underwent open heart surgery. The father of two adult children says that experience was a reminder of how tenuous life is, and it made him even more determined to open his own restaurant. Now that he’s in business, Jim says the next step is to make a profit. He figures he has to bring in about $1,000 in revenue a day to get in the black; right now, he’s pulling in about $700. And while escalating food costs are a considerable obstacle, Jim is undaunted.
“I love a challenge,” Jim said. “It’s sort of like sports. It kind of reminds me of it somewhat, you know? There’s a goal. Winning, winning that customer over. I’m one of those guys where, I tell myself at 8:30 I’m not taking another order, but if someone calls at 8:55, if I haven’t snapped that pizza oven off, I will do it. That’s what it’s all about. Making people happy.”
Jim says no matter what happens, he has no regrets about opening his restaurant. If he’s forced to close, he’s not sure what he’d do for work; perhaps he’d go back to driving a delivery truck. Despite the uncertainty, Jim says he’s enjoying living his dream, regardless of how long it lasts.
Joe Tasca can be reached at jtasca@ripr.org
