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The phone call came around 7:30 that Wednesday morning.
“Jillian, my daughter-in-law, had just driven by the restaurant as she was taking our grandchildren to school,” said Ned Stallings. “She said it looked like something was burning — lots of smoke.”
As she feared, the 64-year-old structure was indeed ablaze.
Firefighters from East Side VFD were first on the scene, and immediately issued calls for assistance, which drew responses from other departments in Stanly, Montgomery and Cabarrus counties. The response forced closure of Stony Gap Road, a popular cut-through from the Valley Drive area to U.S. Highway 52, for most of that morning on Jan. 3, 2024, until the fire was contained around noon.
During investigation, authorities initially would not confirm to the media where the blaze originated, but Stallings later confirmed that it had begun in the kitchen area.
“We still don’t know the exact cause,” he said, “but most of the fire damage was in and around the cooking area, and there was smoke and water damage in the buffet area and some of the adjacent dining rooms.”
And now, nearly 13 full months after the catastrophe, Jay’s Seafood will once again open its doors to customers this Thursday.
Initially, Stallings, the second-generation owner-operator of the restaurant, had expressed hopes of opening much earlier, as he was quoted in a SNAP story dated Jan. 4, 2024, that construction, once started, could be completed in about two months. But, as is often the case in such incidents, meeting updated codes and navigating the necessary but frustrating “red tape” slowed the process.
But, Ned and son John, who have worked in the rebuilding process along with Darrell Hurley of Hurley’s Construction of Troy, aren’t complaining.
On the contrary, the three were very complimentary of the response, communication and assistance provided by numerous county departments (Central Permitting, Building Inspections, and Environmental Health).
“The county has been so good to us,” recounted Ned. “They have done all they could do to work with us to get everything completed. We didn’t want to cut any corners, and we wanted to do things right.”
Even with the county’s cooperation, the logistics of determining materials and work that was needed, communicating with departments and subcontractors and scheduling the work was quite the challenge, according to John.
“Making decisions, deciding what to order, getting orders put in, and lining everything up has been tough,” he said.
Hurley echoed his agreement with Ned and John, and also offered thanks to a much higher authority.
“God’s been good to us through this entire process,” Hurley said. “For us to be able to get everything worked out, and for us to be able to get through the whole project efficiently and with no one getting injured, He has blessed us.”
When the restaurant reopens on Thursday night, customers will notice expanded parking on the west side of the building, but once inside, they won’t see many major changes to the structure.
“We had to make a few changes to restrooms and such to meet code,” John said, “but the layout of the building is still the same.“
“We did have to replace the buffet tables,” he continued, and we also had to replace the coolers and install new kitchen equipment, but that’s in the back.”
Diners will see many familiar items that were salvaged from the building, including “Sandy” (an antique mechanical horse), and a statuesque Indian figure, both of which have adorned the front entrance of the building for years. In addition, many of the same pictures and memorabilia which have been displayed at the facility in past years will remain.

In addition to familiar items, customers will encounter familiar faces as well, according to Ned.
“Pretty much all of our past servers are coming back,” he added.
The restaurant’s reputation for its food should also remain intact, Ned noted.
“Our cooks have been with us forever; so we’ve got lots of experience coming back to the kitchen.”
One more thing that won’t change, Ned added, is the eatery’s policy of not accepting credit or debit cards.
“We will still be cash only,” he said, and added that the staff is expecting a great re-opening on Thursday and into the weekend.
“We’ll be ready,” Ned said. “We are looking forward to seeing lots of our long-time customers.”
Jay’s Seafood Restaurant is at 40439 Stony Gap Road, Albemarle. Hours are 4-9 p.m. Thursday, 4-9:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Sunday.

Toby Thorpe is a freelance writer for The Stanly News & Press.