This story reprinted from the Oct. 30, 2006 Charleston Gazette
By Sarah K. Winn
Staff writer
A storefront across the street from the Clay Center might seem like can’t-miss real estate for any restaurant.
But within the past two years, two restaurants housed on the corner of Lee Street and Leon Sullivan Way have been forced to close.
Today, a new kitchen gets cooking there, and its owner says all he has to do to succeed is keep the food tasty.
Blues BBQ will serve pulled pork, ribs, chicken, steaks, seafood, gourmet pizza and salads.
“I don’t believe it’s jinxed,” says owner Jay Thomas of the 222 Leon Sullivan address. “If I have great food, people will come.”
The location was home to Chef Dan’s, an Italian and American restaurant, for 10 years before its closure in January 2005. Then, the following May, the Cajun-themed Top Cats moved in, only to shut down last March.
“I have always had my eye on this spot, even when Chef Dan’s was here,” said Thomas, who now runs another Blues BBQ location on Jefferson Road in South Charleston. “Chef Dan’s did quite well here.”
The new Blues will serve lunch as well as dinner crowds. The lunchtime menu consists of sandwiches, burgers and salads, running from $5 to $7.
Dinner appetizers start at $5. A $10 dinner ticket serves four or more people, featuring pulled pork with a choice of barbecue sauces.
The restaurant will sell beer, wine and liquor, and diners will be able to consult a list of recommended dinner-drink pairings.
One of the remaining legacies of Top Cats’ brief run, the flashy mural on the building’s brick wall along Lee Street, will be disappearing, Thomas said. Within two weeks, the Blues BBQ name will go in its place.
The restaurant will be open Monday through Thursday from 10:30 a.m. until about 10 p.m. On Friday and Saturday there will be live entertainment, and closing time will be extended until 1:30 a.m. It will be closed Sundays for the first few weeks but eventually will open for brunches.
The Jefferson Road Blues BBQ will remain open, Thomas said.
He said he will run the new location much like the old, relying on as many local products as possible.
“I never pictured myself as barbecue mogul,” he said. “We are West Virginia. We are Charleston. We are not stamped out of some mold.”
To contact staff writer Sarah K. Winn, use e-mail or call 348-5156.