Authentic, Southern-style cuisine is coming to Medford this June in the form of J&L’s Chicken, Fish, and Ribs.
J&L’s is taking up shop in the former Louisiana Fish Shack at 3147 Route 112, just south of the Country Fair Entertainment Park.
The owners are eyeing a middle-to-late June opening.
J&L’s offers a wide variety of dishes from lunch to dinner — not just chicken, fish and ribs — that include their wings, gyros, kabobs, and much more.
They also have an array of side dishes, such as their highly touted mac and cheese.
J&L’s original location is on East Main Street in Riverhead.
“The mac and cheese is just out of this world,” said Vera Chinese, the editor of northforker.com, which covers the Riverhead area. “Honestly, it’s the best mac and cheese I have ever had.”
J&L’s was established back in 2015, when founder Leroy Hines took his family recipes from his catering company, Hines Catering, and teamed up with fellow entrepreneur Joseph Clarke.
Since then, J&L’s has become a staple in the Riverhead community, says Chinese.
“[J&L’s] has established itself as a go-to place in downtown Riverhead for comfort food,” she said.
The venture in Medford will now include a new “J,” as Leroy’s wife, Josefin, will be heading the charge of the new location.
“We were getting married and [Leroy] asked If I wanted to be partners in Medford, so we decided to continue the J&L dream together,” said Josefin.
They picked Medford because of the “growth and potential” happening on Route 112, said the Hines family.
“We know that Route 112 was earmarked for redevelopment in terms of infrastructure, and there is a lot of other businesses going in that area,” said Josefin. “We also saw the need to service the people in the area.”
Leroy and Josefin, who are Riverhead residents, believe the Medford area is about to experience one-of-a-kind recipes that they’ve never had before.
“Every single dish or side that we make has been recipe-d out,” said Josefin.
Those traditional recipes come from Leroy’s childhood, where he would help his grandmother cook while living in Virginia.
“As a young man I grew up in the kitchen,” said Leroy. “Watching and helping my grandmother… and she taught me all the secrets.”
J&L’s will be open daily from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays.
“At [J&L’s] we have that authentic Southern flair and your going to taste the difference,” says Leroy.
