Cold winds and snow don’t deter spring tradition
Snow flurries fell over the weekend, but Jumpin’ Jack’s is summoning spring as the grill sizzles and the soft serve ice cream machines start churning away.
A community staple for 60 years, Jumpin’ Jack’s has served up countless Jack Burgers, french fries, hot dogs and crispy onion rings over the years. And the cold weather did little to deter customers on opening day Thursday, March 31. For many, as evidenced by the long stretching line, getting an opening day burger is a tradition not affected by weather or one-hour waits. This year marks a new addition to the menu, too bacon.
There was people down here at 9:30 [a.m.] waiting in line, and we open at 11 [a.m.],` said Mark Lansing Jr., general manager for Jumpin’ Jack’s. `It is pretty much the same whether it is 30 [degrees] or 70. We get the same amount of people.`
Lansing, a Niskayuna resident and son of the owner, has worked at the restaurant for 20 years and said he couldn’t even guess how many people are served during a typical opening day. All he does is look to make sure there is still a line and the food keeps cooking until everyone is served, even if it goes past the 9:30 p.m. closing time. He said everybody likes to work on opening day and there were about 25 staffers working on Thursday.
On occasion, the weather has forced Jumpin’ Jack’s to close its doors. With heavy rainfall, the Mohawk River can stretch out across the parking lot too.
`We have had to close in the past for snowstorms, ice or floods. You know, it is part of doing business in the Northeast. You can’t wait for it to get nice to open ` you might be waiting a long time,` said Lansing. `We just do our best to keep the food hot and stay warm while we are serving people and get them out as fast as we can so they can get back to their car or sit down with hot food to eat.`
The prices on the menu did increase from last year, with most of the food choices increasing by 25 cents, and most of the dinner selections increasing by 50 cents. Gas prices ultimately drive most of the increased food costs, said Lansing, but the business tries to stay affordable.
`We had to raise the prices this year, but I think it is the first year in three or four years we had to raise prices,` said Lansing. `We really try to not it would be easy to gouge, but we don’t want to do that. We want people to realize that we might not be making as much money this year as we did last year with keeping the prices the same, but we realize it is important to do anything we can to keep the place affordable.`
People might not realize how many things are attached to gas prices, said Lansing, because everything from dairy and meat products comes back to oil prices for much of the increased costs. Being closed for six months would allow them to more easily raise the prices each year, said Lansing, but often they remain the same.
`We do our best not to change anything,` said Lansing. `You move out of town for 10 years or 15 years and you come back for a high school reunion and it is the same as it was when you were 15 or 20 years old.`
Everything from the appliances to prepare the food and staying loyal to food supplies, even if they could save a buck going with another one, is done to ensure the enticing aromas continue to stretch out toward Collins Park and over the bridge to Schenectady.
`Flavors and smells are really attached to the memory, so if you can keep that the same and remind them of their childhood then you got a fan for life,` said Lansing.
Kimberly Shaw, a Rotterdam resident, amassed a large amount of food while trying to feed 15 hungry people on the chilly opening day. Shaw said it is a tradition to come on opening day so the weather doesn’t play a large factor.
`It is history it is a part of the community and they have good food,` said Shaw.
There are even people that only come out during the rainy and less sunny days, said Lansing.
`There are customers that we only see when it is raining, or when it is cold or windy, because they are smart enough to know if it is sunny out they might have to wait a half an hour for something,` said Lansing. `Rainy days are a bummer, but they bring customers in too.“
