Last year at this time J/R’s Ribs on 131st Street in Ocean City was celebrating the return of its creator Jack Hubberman as he regained the reigns and vowed to return the restaurant to its original recipes along with making a few modernizing changes.
In 1980, Hubberman opened J/R’s Ribs on 62nd Street and four years later its second location opened on 131st Street. In 2007 manager Jerry Sinnott took over both locations as Hubberman headed into retirement until last year when he left the life of luxury behind and returned to take over the 131st Street location and Sinnott turned his focus to the mid-town location.
This week Hubberman reported that as of last Saturday J/R’s new drive-thru service has opened and the restaurant has been modernized with an update on its 40-foot sports bar, new chairs and tables in the dining room that seats over 400 people, along with new carpet and lighting.
“We have taken it back over … it is really shaping up now,” Hubberman said. “You will hear a lot of people say, locals as well as the visitors, it is J/R’s. The food is back to the way it used to be.”
The restaurant has taken it to the next level by stepping in and filling a void that north Ocean City fast food chains had left behind when they closed their doors.
The J/R’s formerly in Rehoboth had a buffet with fried chicken that had become a customer favorite. Hubberman realized the empty space for local chicken lovers and decided to bring the recipe out of retirement as well.
As he was in the process of ordering the ingredients and equipment, suggestions were made that he fill the void of a drive-thru too.
“Well I am the type of person to listen to people … so I got a hold of a contractor,” Hubberman said.
Next thing he knew in 30 days the drive-thru window was completed and open.
“The drive-thru is in, the signs are up, and the bells are ringing,” Hubberman said. “It is coming along really good … everybody is raving about it; we have an exceptionally good recipe for it.”
The express drive-thru menu includes angus burgers, chicken sandwiches, chicken tenders, rib dinners, chicken meals by the piece or by the bucket as well as sides and fountain drinks. It opens daily at 11 a.m.
The drive-thru accommodates locals and visitors alike who are looking for a home cooked meal on the go while in Ocean City. J/R’s fried chicken is also available in-house and for carry-out.
“Take your chick to the beach,” Hubberman is fond of saying.
Besides the newest additions, J/R’s opened a commissary next door to the uptown location on 131st Street in 1992. The commissary prepares and cooks some of the restaurant’s specialties and delivers the goods right to its locations in Ocean City.
The commissary prepares J/R’s famous ribs, as well as hand glazed honey spiral hams, crab cakes, J/R’s ribs famous BBQ sauce and even T-shirts for shipping or pick-up. Any of the merchandise can be placed for order at jrsribs.com.
The BBQ sauce has never been changed since it was tweaked a little in 1983 and remains a favorite of many to this day, and the ribs have been provided by the same company since it opened because they are the best ribs on the market, according to Hubberman.
http://www.mdcoastdispatch.com/articles/2012/07/20/Top-Stories/JRs-North-Adds-Drive-Thru
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