Today we’d like to introduce you to J. Mel Jarnagin.
J. Mel, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My wife and I started the business about four years ago after we purchased the property in Seabrook. We found a half-acre property that had a 100yo home and was dual zoned for business, it was perfect. We began by roasting coffee and making cold brew kits, we went to every farmer’s market wo could in the area and started selling our coffee, and worked on building on-line coffee sales as well. Our goal was to build a restaurant and we set about to do that. First, we converted the old greenhouse to a coffee roastery, then we took the old generator/wellhouse and expanded it to create the coffee shop.
Through Hurricanes and Pandemics, we persevered and were finally able to open Damn Fine Coffee and Fried Pies in July of 2020. The concept was to make something new and unique, I grew up eating my grandmother’s fried pies and saw that there was virtually nowhere to buy them anymore. And we knew that they would pair perfectly with our fresh roasted coffee. I am a Master Chef, so our focus was to create unique flavor combinations along with generational family recipes. We brought my daughter on board, who is a Gelato Master, to round our menu, which includes savory and sweet fried pies, smothered tater tots, hand-crafted gelato, and of course, fresh roasted coffee.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Well, Hurricane Harvey hit about a month after we closed Escrow, and then we had numerous delays dealing with construction, as we are in a V4 Hurricane Impact Zone and had to engineer all the building to the new FEMA standards, which caused countless delays. The back half of the shop building was built in 1940, the greenhouse in the 50’s and the house in 1919, so there were layers of different building codes to navigate. We were finally ready to get an occupancy permit on March of 2020… and we all know what happened then… four months later, we were finally able to open for business.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
My background is unusual to say the least, I was a musician/actor, and knew I would need a day job, instead of waiting tables I chose to focus on back of house jobs. Ultimately I went to Culinary Arts School and becoming a Master Chef, with an emphasis on Creole food. I managed/owned a number of restaurants over the years. I was also a touring musician for about 30 years (when you come the Damn Fine Coffee and Fried Pies, the walls are decorated with various memorabilia for my musical past) My restaurant work led to becoming a celebrity chef, I was the host of a TV Food show called The Food Guys, on the Home and Garden network for a few years, and appeared on many network TV shows as a guest as well as writing a nationally-syndicated newspaper column.
What’s next?
Currently, we are adding a large covered patio area for the restaurant and adding a live music stage. We feel that our concept will lend itself to expanding to multiple locations and hope to pursue that opportunity in the near future.
Contact Info:
- Email: melvis@itsdamnfine.com
- Website: www.itsdamnfine.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/damnfineroasters/
