Mark Jones closes one Columbus restaurant as he continues recovery from spinal cord injury
As he works daily in an Atlanta rehab center to recover from a serious spinal cord injury, Columbus restauranteur Mark Jones is continuing to make business decisions back home.
Last month, Jones closed one of his five downtown restaurants, The Poultry Company. Jones opened The Poultry Company, which featured fried chicken, in November. He had previously operated PHILLY-osophy The Art of Cheesesteak in the same location for more than five years.
“That’s the only thing I am closing,” Jones said by phone from Atlanta late Monday. “Everything else that we have is doing really well. The Poultry Company was the newest one, while the others are established and have really good management and teams.”
Jones and his landlord for the 1207 Broadway building, Columbus commercial Realtor Ernie Smallman, are close to finalizing a deal to fill the space with another restaurant. Jones said he has been working with Ed Duncan to open a new restaurant in that space.
“I have sold it to him, we just need to get the deal finished,” Jones said.
Duncan could not be reached for comment.
Jones started building his restaurant empire in 1998 when he opened Hunter’s Pub, a popular southern Harris County steakhouse. After the closing of The Poultry Company, he owns, or co-owns, four restaurants in downtown Columbus, including Smoke Bourbon and BBQ, Black Cow, Flip Side Burgers & Tacos and Plucked Up Chicken and Biscuits. He also owns Mark’s Pies and Thighs in Harris County, Ready, Steak, Go takeout restaurant and Mark’s City Grill.
Jones, 53, is a quadriplegic from injuries suffered in an early morning car crash on May 20 when he plowed his truck into the rear of an 18-wheeler in Phenix City as he was traveling home from an out-of-town trip. After undergoing surgery at Piedmont Columbus Regional’s midtown campus to relieve pressure on his spinal chord, Jones was moved to The Shepherd Center in Atlanta, one of the top rehab hospitals in the nation. He is still in the day program at The Shepherd Center and will be seeking outpatient treatment later this month.
Jones said he has made significant progress toward gaining some use of his legs and arms, but still has a “long way to go.” The Ledger-Enquirer wrote about Jones’ plight and rehab in late June.
“The difference between then and now is night and day,” Jones said.
He walked for the first time on Friday, with a lot of help from the occupational therapists.
“On Friday, I walked 20 or 30 feet and it was ugly,” Jones said. “On Monday, I walked maybe 60 feet and it was prettier, but it wasn’t any easier.”
Jones hopes to make a weekly trip to Columbus in the near future.
“I hope you will be seeing me in Columbus at least once a week,” Jones said.
This story was originally published August 14, 2018 at 10:41 AM.