AROUND THE PARK AGAIN by Sharon Lee Tegler
Today, Clint Jones is a busy chef operating his highly successful business Sizzle Shack from a commercial kitchen and up-to-his elbows making his famous crab cakes – often with help from son Parker.
Life was rosy for the Shipley’s Choice resident, wife Liz and sons Parker, Campbell and Brody until March of 2020 when “everything shut down” at the beginning of the COVID pandemic.
“I was in the trade show business and that business completely shut down 100 percent.,” Jones said. “We went from a very large company to next to nothing in two or three days and they furloughed about 8,000 people from the company. I was one of them. Liz and I sat right here on our porch the night it happened and talked about what we were going to do. For some time, we’ve had a small seasonal business called Beach Tables but not one that would support a family of five.
“We didn’t really start Sizzle Shack on purpose, but I’d always cooked and hosted tailgates and parties for large crowds and some of my friends urged me to make a few of my crab cakes,” he said.
They loved his food and thought he should start cooking for people. Thinking it would be fun, Clint followed their advice, made some crab cakes and opened an order form for what would become his signature Sizzle Shack dish on April 15th of 2020.
“That very first night we were very busy, with good response from our friends and Shipley’s Choice neighbors,” he said. “So the next week we did it again and orders started to grow. Almost immediately, we had to start treating it like a small business”.
Sizzle Shack’s signature drink – fresh squeezed Orange Crushes that customers could add alcohol to, or not, as they pleased was also an immediate hit.
It didn’t take long for Clint and Liz to realize they were filling a need. With schools closed and businesses shut down, people in Shipley’s Choice (and across the greater Severna Park area) were working remotely and remaining at home.
“Everyone was here. Cars rarely went up or down the streets.” Clint said. “There weren’t even planes flying overhead. People couldn’t go out to dinner and were ordering their groceries online. It was quiet.”
As much as people enjoyed Clint’s food, the couple’s fledgling business became something of a rallying point for their Shipley’s Choice neighbors stuck at home. They’d order something from Sizzle Shack, take a picture of it and share it on their Facebook or Instagram pages.
It became a competition. There’d be 40 or 50 people posting how they’d served their crab cakes or what they served them with. They’d cook them differently, put them in air fryers or grill them. Or they’d make them into sandwiches paired with Bloody Mary’s.
Primarily through word of mouth, the business took off. The couple expanded their menu to include a choice of two meals built around Clint’s much loved tailgate food. The first was a Jumbo Lump Crab Cake, Crab Dip and Orange Crush option. The second option featured a Family Meal For Four that differed each week. There was lasagna, salad and bread, chicken parm, salad and bread, or pulled pork, mac and cheese and coleslaw.
Almost overnight, the Jones’ new business was outgrowing their Shipley’s Choice home. They had five refrigerators going at one time with two of them in the garage. The entire Jones family helped out including sons Parker, 19, Campbell , 11, and Brody, 9.
Sizzle Shack’s growth was a bit limited by the number of high school or college kids they could employ as drivers. (They were delivering to Severna Park, Millersville, Pasadena, Arnold, Odenton and Gambrills.) Nevertheless, with orders steadily growing , it became necessary to acquire a commercial kitchen space. They found one in Gambrills at the Gambrill’s Athletic Club.
“Thinking back, we were among the very first ones to deliver ready made meals for people that they could put in the oven and warm up when they’re ready for it,” Clint said. “Having wondered if it would work, we were not only well received but were truly becoming a part of the community instead of just living here. The community gave great support. We, in turn, are supporting our local businesses, schools, programs and charities through fundraising.”
Asked if he’d consider expanding Sizzle Shack to an actual retail space or restaurant, Clint said he likes the business as it is. Restaurants are always a risk, especially now with it hard to hire wait staff and the owners having to do all the jobs.
Both he and Liz are busy with corporate jobs (he’s back consulting for the trade show business). They also operate Beach Tables which their younger sons like to help with. They craft three different designs of tables made to fit around a beach umbrella. They find they’re able to handle the work and still have family time and prefer to keep it that way.
“We like where we are,” Clint said. “With Sizzle Shack, we have something that’s a little different. We fill a niche. We have good branding and good name recognition. It’s great for us.”
He admits there are challenges. Right now, the price of crab meat is extremely high and in short supply. Some restaurants have taken crab cakes off the menu. But Sizzle Shack continues featuring them and luckily offers other great dishes like Buffalo Chicken and Ham and Cheese Sliders topped with their famous slider sauce.
For information or to order from Sizzle Shack you can visit Facebook: @cjsizzleshack and Instagram: @thesizzleshack For Menu & More Info, visit www.thesizzleshack.com.
You can check out Beach Tables on Facebook: @beachtableInstagram or at www.BeachTables.com.
Started during the Pandemic, j.lolly is thriving with popular tablescapes
Partly in response to the pandemic, friends Tammi Molavi and Michelle Hickman started an online business called j.lolly last fall. They create beautiful table settings for at-home entertaining that customers can “rent”. j.lolly offers complete tablescapes for gatherings of from two to 24 diners and guarantees delivery and pick-up.
Having featured j.lolly last November, we caught up with them again. They report that the business has done well.
“Renting a table setting from us was a good way for people to dress up a special occasion without having to go out and shop for or make an investment in dinnerware, glassware or other items themselves,” Molavi said. “We delivered everything they needed and they appreciated it.”
Molavi (a Shipley’s Choice resident) and Hickman were among the first to discover Sizzle Shack. They’ve teamed with them from time to time supplying the dinnerware while Sizzle Shack supplies the food. j.lolly also teams with other local businesses like April’s Table.
With the pandemic on the wane, Hickman and Molavi are reevaluating what they’ll be doing as they go forward. They’ve had such a good response to their table designs that people are now requesting styling services. That’s something the partners fall naturally into. They no longer want to limit themselves only to rentable tablescapes. Moving beyond their original plan, they’ve supplied table settings for a wedding and are picking up more wedding clients.
Like Sizzle Shack, j.lolly offers a unique service and fills a niche. To find out more about them, visit them on Facebook at j.lolly | Facebook and on Instagram at j.lolly (@setbyjlolly) • Instagram photos and videos .
Also born during the pandemic, Atalie Day Photography experienced steady growth
Nearly a year into the pandemic, Atalie Day Payne launched Atalie Day Photography in October of 2020. We featured her then and have followed her progress. Formerly a photographer and columnist for The Capital and Maryland Gazette newspapers, she retired in 2019 when son Jasper was born. She’d long wanted to start a business of her own. Though uncertain whether to proceed at such a precarious time, she moved ahead.
After learning portraiture processes from a photographer she admired, Payne attracted her first clients, shooting engagement, maternity and wedding photos in natural outdoor settings. She then came up with an idea to host mini-Christmas photo sessions in November and early December of 2020. She posed families out of doors at a farm on a velvet couch with holiday decorations in the background.
They were so successful she was able to make a $300 contribution from the proceeds to a charity, The Musical Autist, which presents concerts for individuals dealing with autism. The sessions helped spread the word about Atalie Day Photography attracting new clients. By spring, the blossoming portraitist was able to open a small studio.
Paynesaid she’s had a few ups and downs but things have generally gone well. Lately, she’s done quite a few shoots involving horses and their owners – a subject she’s naturally drawn to as she grew up around horses.
“It’s challenging, as horses are gigantic creatures with minds of their own, but I really love doing it,” she said.
Payne is forever scouting scenic locations as backgrounds for various types of shoots. However, she’s already made plans for another series of holiday mini-sessions and is pleased to announce she’s found a great place to do them.
She’s partnering with a business acquaintance who owns a small chicken farm with a section of evergreens on the property that will be perfect.
Best of all, her father is building her a seven foot hexagonal frame that will make a wonderful holiday backdrop when decorated with evergreens.
Payne is already receiving inquiries about the mini-Holiday photo sessions and will be posting the dates at https://www.facebook./atcomaliedayphoto or on the Atalie Day Photography website at Portrait and Wedding Photographer – Annapolis, Maryland (atalieday.com).
