Tag Archive for: #restaurant39

The Local Skinny! Vance Eats: Blackened Catfish From Restaurant 39

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A lot of folks love a good plate of fish or seafood. Whether it’s fried flounder or shrimp fettuccine or some other dish, seafood can be some of the most delicious food you’ll ever eat. And that includes catfish, even though it’s not from the sea.

Catfish can certainly be battered and fried, but if you’ve never tried blackened catfish, then you have missed out. On today’s Vance Eats segment of The Local Skinny! on WIZS, Trey Snide and Bill Harris had the opportunity to sample some blackened catfish from JR’s Restaurant 39. Blackened Catfish are cooked in a very hot cast iron skillet with butter, black pepper and spices. The black color comes from the burned pepper and spices.

Today’s meal was served with delicious grilled shrimp, perfectly seasoned butter beans, creamy mac and cheese plus hushpuppies but, the highlight was the highly flavorful blackened catfish. The seasoning never overpowered the fish but enhanced it. “I always eat fish with tartar sauce and ketchup but this doesn’t need it,” Harris said of the fish. “It’s delicious,” added Snide.

JR’s Restaurant 39 features daily specials and you can stop by and order the blackened catfish with two sides and see for yourself just how good it is. The restaurant is located at 946 West Andrews Ave. at Crossroads Shopping Center, and they are open Saturday through Monday from 7 to 11 a.m. and Tuesday through Friday from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m.

JR’s Restaurant 39 is an advertising sponsor of WIZS, but this is not a paid ad.

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Local Restaurant Salutes First Responders With Breakfast ‘On The House’

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The law enforcement presence around JR’s Restaurant 39 this morning shouldn’t have alarmed passers-by – J.R. Stainback and his staff WANTED those firefighters and all other first responders to come by for a free breakfast to say “thank you” for their service.

In addition to all those uniformed first responders in attendance were other city and county officials who were providing well-wishes to Stainback during a ribbon-cutting to recognize the restaurant as a new member of the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce.

Stainback spoke with WIZS News Monday morning and told Trey Snide that this is the second annual Community Servant Breakfast to honor all first responders, from volunteer firefighters to 911 operators and everyone in between who serves as a first responder in Vance County.

“This year is extra special,” Stainback said, given that the country has just marked the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

“We’re remembering all the people from 9/11” as well,” he said. But Stainback said he is so appreciative of the community support that he and his restaurant staff have received over the past couple of years during the uncertainty of the pandemic.

“For us to be able to do this, is a testament to this community…2020 was horrible, but the community stuck by us,” he said. When dine-in wasn’t an option, people ordered take-out plates. “The community has really rallied around us,” he said. This breakfast is a result of all that support. “We wouldn’t have been able to do it without all the wonderful support of the customers.”

During the ribbon-cutting, Stainback reiterated the importance of that customer support. “From all of us, from all the customers who support us every day…(this breakfast) is an offering of thanks for everything y’all do,” he told those first responders.

Michele Burgess, Chamber president, and Dr. Levy Brown, chairman of the Chamber board, thanked Stainback for participating in the Chamber

“We want you to know you will continuously have the Chamber’s support,” Brown said, wishing Stainback continued success.

Local city and county officials also were on hand for the event, including Board of Commissioners Chairman Dan Brummitt, Henderson Mayor Eddie Ellington, Police Chief Marcus Barrow and Sheriff Curtis Brame.

“Where would we be without our first responders?” Brame wondered aloud after the ceremony.  “I’m just grateful to be a part of such an awesome team here in Vance County,” he added.

He said it’s not often that all the staffs in the various law enforcement agencies get to spend time in fellowship with one another and the community service breakfast provides that opportunity. “We’re so busy…doing our own jobs – we only see each other at crime scenes, accident scenes – to be able to sit down and break bread together is awesome. I’m overwhelmed with the amount of people that showed up,” he said.

TownTalk 04/27/20: Restaurant 39 Reopens With Full Menu for Takeout

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100.1 FM ~ 1450 AM ~ WIZS, Your Community Voice ~ Click to LISTEN LOCAL

J.R. Stainback, owner of Restaurant 39 in Henderson, appeared on the first segment of WIZS Town Talk Monday at 11 a.m.

Reopening today after a 30-day shutdown, Restaurant 39 will offer its full menu for takeout including vegetable casseroles, chitlins, country fried steak, baby flounder and fried catfish.

 

The restaurant’s hiatus was due mostly to slow sales when COVID-19 restrictions were first put into place. “We tried to do ‘to go’ for two weeks and sales were down 90-percent,” explained Stainback. “I’m hoping, opening back up, that people have gotten a little more use to the situation and how things are operating.”

The restaurant, located at 946 G West Andrews Avenue in the Crossroads Shopping Center, is accepting call ahead or Facebook orders. You may also drive to the restaurant and place your order with an employee in the parking lot.

To place an order by telephone, please call the restaurant’s main line at (252) 572-2661 or the alternate number at (919) 584-2251. The dining area of the restaurant is currently closed to customers, so orders will be brought directly to your car.

Stainback said bottled drinks should be available with takeout orders beginning this Wednesday and to-go menus have been printed and will be handed out to the community.

While he hopes the takeout order route will generate more business this go-around, Stainback said every step of the process has been difficult – from securing needed supplies to overcoming public fears of the virus and food contamination.

According to the CDC, coronaviruses are generally thought to be spread from person-to-person through respiratory droplets. Currently, there is no evidence to support that transmission of COVID-19 is associated with food. For more information on the virus and food safety, please click here.

“This COVID-19 stuff is something I’ve never seen before in all of my years in the restaurant business,” Stainback said. “I’m sure a lot of businesses are suffering, but the restaurant industry is really suffering. I wouldn’t be scared to say that the only ones suffering more than the restaurant business are beauty shops, nail salons and barber shops. It is a really trying time for everyone.”

Stainback said it is the people who have been supporting the restaurant since it opened in 2017 that will get the business through these tough times. “I want to say thank you to everyone in the community, the City of Henderson and the County of Vance. Everyone has been a great supporter of the restaurant since we’ve been here.”

To hear the interview with Stainback in its entirety, go to WIZS.com and click on Town Talk.

(This is not a paid advertisement)

Town Talk 09/09/19: Restaurant 39 Holds Free Appreciation Breakfast

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100.1 FM / 1450 AM WIZS; Local News broadcasts M-F 8am, 12pm, 5pm

If you were anywhere near the Crossroads Shopping Center in Henderson this morning, you may have wondered about the large gathering of police officers, deputies, fire personnel, EMS/EMT, Rescue Squad, State Highway Patrol and other public and civil servants.

Thankfully, the cause of the gathering at 946G West Andrews Avenue was not of the emergency variety but was instead a show of gratitude.

Restaurant 39 owner J.R. Stainback held a free breakfast buffet for law enforcement and first responders from 8 until 10 a.m. to show his appreciation for those who serve and protect.

“We are just trying to let them know we appreciate everything they do for our city and our community,” Stainback said. “I worked with Sheriff Curtis Brame and Henderson Police Chief Marcus Barrow to get this breakfast together, and I hope we can get other businesses to follow suit.”

Local law enforcement, fire, EMT/EMS, Rescue Squad and other first responders attend a free appreciation breakfast courtesy of Restaurant 39 in the Crossroads Shopping Center, Henderson. (WIZS photo)

Henderson Fire Chief Steve Cordell spoke to WIZS’ John Charles Rose during the station’s live broadcast and expressed his gratitude to Stainback and the restaurant staff for their generosity.

“It means the world to us to know that we’ve got business owners and volunteers that are here today looking after local fire, EMS and law enforcement. Knowing that the community and people like JR and his staff have public safety in their thoughts and prayers means the world to us,” he said.

Sheriff Curtis Brame remarked on the good turn out and said, “We don’t often get that pat on the back; it’s great to be appreciated.”

WIZS John Charles Rose brings listeners a live, on-location broadcast from Restaurant 39’s appreciation breakfast. (WIZS photo)

Brame also informed the crowd that Chief Barrow was unable to attend due to a prior engagement but did have a big part in planning and promoting the breakfast.

Javier Plummer, director for Vance County EMS, said he and his crew were glad to be included in the occasion. “Hopefully, we don’t have any interruptions and then we can enjoy and fellowship,” joked Plummer. “We do the best we can for the citizens and we are proud that we can be here and represent.”

Before partaking of the meal, David Barnett, associate minister at South Henderson Pentecostal Holiness Church, offered a blessing and words of encouragement.

“Your jobs are very difficult, very dangerous and very demanding,” he said. “I hope you find them very rewarding also. It’s not just a grab and it’s not just a job. Restaurant 39 and the rest of the people gathered here today want to say we love and appreciate you. Lives are changed because of what you do.”

To hear WIZS’ broadcast from Restaurant 39, please click the play button below. Listen live to WIZS’ Town Talk Monday-Friday at 11 a.m. on 1450AM, 100.1 FM or online at www.wizs.com.