By Kiara Doyal, The Seattle Medium
Jamar Jones, a local entrepreneur and event promoter, is celebrating the opening of his latest venture, Jamar’s Sports Bar and Grill, located in Des Moines, Washington. With over 20 years of experience in promotions and 15 years bartending, Jones has added this sports bar to his growing portfolio, fulfilling a longtime dream of his.
“I was a part of the promotion business. I did concerts and events in Seattle for 20 years now, had a company called Live Entertainment, went into bartending for about 15 years, started working on about five houses, and then finally started this new project for the sports bar last November,” says Jones about his business ventures.
“I’m from South Seattle, and Seattle is big on sports. I am heavily into sports; my kids play sports, my stepson plays basketball at UCONN, and my little one is really active,” says Jones. “My family’s involvement with sports made me realize that opening a sports bar was something that I have always wanted to do.”
Chukundi Salisbury, a fellow promoter and community activist, says that Jones’ extensive experience as an entrepreneur and businessperson provides him with the knowledge and established loyal customer base to be successful in a highly competitive marketplace.
“Jamar is a long-time party promoter who eventually turned into a bartender, and he has acquired such a loyal following. In terms of the community, he [Jones] has given people a place to go and a Black-owned business where they can go and support and fellowship and be a part of his business space.”
While Jones says that owning a sports bar has always been a dream of his, and seeing it come to light has been a dream come true, he also says the journey to get there was not without its own set of roadblocks, as he originally planned to have it opened for his birthday.
According to Jones, he had to work through many obstacles to open the sports bar, including having to install new plumbing and electrical fixtures, and having to navigate his way through a stop work order that took three months to resolve.
“The city put me through a lot,” says Jones. “[I don’t believe that] they weren’t really happy about having a Black-owned business down here, and every time I did something, they would throw out other things that I needed to still take care of. They basically made me [construct] a brand-new building. But it made me appreciate it a bit more. I was hands-on with a lot of stuff, and finally opened my doors a little over a week ago.”
Despite these obstacles, Jones says the community response has been overwhelmingly positive, particularly from residents in the predominantly white area.
“I was actually worried about opening a Black-owned business in a mostly white neighborhood, but the support has been amazing,” said Jones. “It is actually a perfect place after all, and it has been something different to offer out here. We have catfish on the menu and food that this community has never really had, and they have embraced it. Last week we went through 30 pounds of catfish in two days, and then 200 pounds of wings, which was 460 orders, in two days, so it has been very busy, to say the least.”
According to Salisbury, Jones has a deep-rooted love for his community, especially for youth sports in particular, and believes that with the opening of his sports bar, Jones will continue to use his resources to help local youth sports organizations.
“People are excited to finally be able to support him, personally, in a space where he has ownership. He has been at a couple of different bars, and the owners of the bar most certainly like the fact that he brings in all types of people, but those things haven’t been reciprocated back out into the community,” says Salisbury. “I think that people are hopeful that Jamar is going to use some of his proceeds from his venture to continue to pour into things like youth football and youth basketball, and giving back to his community on his personal time.”
A true businessman at heart, Jones is already looking to expand his sports bar in different areas throughout the region.
“We are currently working on the downstairs, which nobody knows about. Although I do want people to know that this is a sports bar, we are not SZN, we are not Joey’s, but we are a sports bar with sports bar vibes, where you seat yourselves,” says Jones. “But I do want to expand, and hopefully in the next year, I will have one in Columbia City. By the end of my life, I want to have three locations, so hopefully, that is able to come true and work out for me.”
Having been around for some time now, Jones knows the stigmas as it relates to Black-owned businesses, and while it may have been hard for him to open the doors, he knows that it will take even more hard work, perseverance, and an exceptional level of customer care and professionalism that will not only allow him to keep the doors open but to have the business grow and thrive.
“Being a Black-owned business is very difficult, and I don’t think people realize that because as soon as you walk through the door, you have this stigma that you are going to make it ghetto,” says Jones. “Every possible department has come in here multiple times, but I expected it, and that was the least of my worries. I opened this up so that everyone has somewhere to go, but if you have a Black-owned business that is not either in Kent or Renton, it is very hard right now.”
“If I was in Houston or somewhere different, I would be very successful, but here in Seattle, it is different because every Black-owned [business] gets shut down or receives complaints,” added Jones.
Jones hopes his journey will inspire others to persevere, especially fellow Black entrepreneurs who face similar challenges.
“It’s tough, but we have to stick with it,” he said. “I’m not here to cater to just one group—I want a space for everyone. I want my sports bar to be a place where everyone feels welcome and where the community can gather, enjoy good food, and watch a game. That’s what this is all about.”