Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 12, 1990 TAG: 9004130161
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: N-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GRACE BOSWORTH SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"Sometimes truckers will come off the road to use the public phone outside and, by the time they have finished their calls, they come on in. That's good for business."
Jones is a Washington, D.C., native who came to Roanoke in 1964 and graduated from Lucy Addison High School. He then entered the U.S. Army and subsequently served a year in Vietnam. "I was in a combat zone, but I didn't do any shooting. Still, I was very glad to come home."
Coming home was the beginning of some really bad turns in his life. He "got in trouble with the law," was sentenced to three years and seven months in prison, but was paroled.
"I can't blame it on anybody. I was my own man and I made my own choices." Unfortunately, he said, the choices were bad. Eight months after leaving prison, he went back - this time on a 10-year sentence for armed robbery.
"From 1974 to 1984, I was in jail. The only good thing that came out of that was somebody convinced me I needed some skills. I learned to cook.
"When I got out, I went to work for the Holiday Inns and learned some more about good cooking and what people like to eat." Still searching for something he really wanted to do, Jones left that field for a while and tried selling jewelry. "Really peddling it independently on the streets. That got old fast."
Last June he went to work for Cub's Cafe. The owner had other avenues to pursue. "It was November 30, 1989. I had turned 43 the day before and I gave myself a birthday present. I bought my boss out and changed the name, and here we are."
Dee Cee's Deli is a 10-seat shop with a long counter running along the right side as customers enter. Behind it is a spotless cooking area and behind that, a sliding window that looks into a laundromat next door.
"That's a big help to my place," Jones observes. "There's time to have a hamburger or a sub while you're watching the dryer go around and I serve breakfast anytime. I think location is really important and this seems to be a good one."
His motto for the deli is "Nothing But Good Food" and the menu reflects basics like a hot dog with chili, onions and other works, tuna salad sandwiches, fish filet, chuck wagon and the standard BLT.
"I've risked my savings on this and, if hard work will do it, I will make it go. I open at 8 a.m. and close at 9 p.m. six days a week. On Sundays, it's 8 to 5. Add to that the extra time it takes to clean up each night and that's a pretty long work week. When I leave here, it's straight home to bed."
Jones has one employee so far, James Perry, who comes in for a while in the late afternoon. That gives Jones time to work with his accountant "who keeps the money straight for me."
As for other aspects of his small business, Jones said, "I'm learning as I go along. When I first opened, I was paying too much for supplies like napkins and paper cups, but I'm getting the hang of it."
Dee Cee's Deli now offers carry-out service. Looking down the line at future services, Jones dimly sees a day when he will be able to deliver, especially to the lunch crowd that works in his neighborhood.
If he has any advice for someone getting into a business, it's "be sure it's what you want to do. Once you're in it, you have to be willing to put in the work and the hours or you'll be out as fast as you came in."
by CNB