Fredericton Food Truck Expanding to Restaurant on Northside
FREDERICTON – Peter Jones from PJ’s Wings an Things started his fish and chicken business out of the Northside Market seven years ago and upgraded to a food truck two years ago. Now, Jones is gearing up to open the physical location for the new PJ’s Wings an Things.
Jones realized he wanted to start his own wing business during a Run for the Cure fundraiser while he was working at CIBC.
“I was cooking chicken wings in the basement of the bank,” he said.
After Jones’ time working at the bank, he opened his shop at the Northside Market.
When the Northside Market closed, Jones’ friend from York County Cider let him park the truck in his lot.
“Business has probably tripled since the same time last year,” Jones said.
Jones said he noticed they were outgrowing the truck anyway, but when his friend from York County Cider offered him a spot inside, Jones decided he’d take the chance to expand.
In terms of a menu expansion, Jones still plans to just keep chicken and fish, but he wants to include wraps, chicken salads, and items that weren’t feasible in the truck.
He said feedback from customers is one of the main reasons they decided to make the change this year.
Customers wanted to know where they could find PJ’s in the winter when the truck was no longer running.
“I would say probably 90 percent of the decision was made because of the demand,” Jones said.
COVID-19 hasn’t affected Jones’ decision to expand into a building. He said people have been wanting it, so he’s going to listen to his customers.
He said despite COVID-19, people keep coming back to his restaurant because they like the quality of the food. He uses no frozen food. Everything is bought local and fresh.
“I support all New Brunswick businesses,” Jones said.
Jones said the restaurant probably won’t be finished with renovations until the end of August.