East St. Louis is about to get a new restaurant at the community college center

Miss Jay’s Cafeteria will open to the public Friday, Aug. 20, at its new location at East St. Louis Community College Center, 601 James R. Thompson Blvd., Building B, in East St. Louis.

Hours for the grand opening are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Owner Jere Richardson said the plan is to run the cafeteria during the week and operate a catering service with a food truck on weekends, at least twice a month.

Miss Jay’s food truck made recent appearances at area events such as the Black Woodstock Festival in July, as well as at local businesses.

In addition to building up a successful business, Richardson wants to show the area that businesses are coming back to East St. Louis, wanting people to “see that East St. Louis is not as dead” as people think. She also wants to make people aware of the college, and says Miss Jay’s Cafeteria can help do that.

The location for the cafeteria was part of the first prize awarded to Miss Jay’s in Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s inaugural East St. Louis Café of Champions Challenge. The prize consisted of $2,000 and 12 months of rent and utility-free space on SIUE’s East St. Louis Higher Education Campus.

“We’re still on the high from winning everything,” said Richardson as she prepares to open the cafeteria.

Miss Jay’s Cafeteria’s regular hours will be 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday-Friday except for Wednesday, when it’s open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. To contact the cafeteria, call 618-874-8711. For catering services, call 618-671-1768.

This story was originally published August 9, 2021 at 5:00 AM.