St. Lou-ish Fish trailer gets rave reviews on Kalamazoo roadside

KALAMAZOO, MI — Since Whitney Davis first learned about the the St. Lou-ish Fish trailer parked near the corner of Westnedge and Kilgore on Friday afternoons this May, he’s been there nearly every week.

“I don’t know what he seasons the fish with, but it’s not a taste I’m used to or have had before,” said Davis, a Portage resident. “I never knew about the St. Louis way.”

The St. Louis way is what comes natural to Ryan Jones, who was born and raised in the “Gateway to the West.”

Yet Jones, who has called Kalamazoo home for 12 years now, didn’t begin to experiment with frying fish until he left St. Louis.

When Jones made the move to Kalamazoo, a lady he knew at Bible Baptist Church gave him a trailer. He’s since put up a pair of 4-foot-by-8-foot sides, put in two commercial fryers and become a roadside attraction that has no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

After two years of selling fish off Cork Street, he made the move to the northwest corner of Westnedge and Kilgore earlier this year.

“I’ve been on Westnedge for five months now,” he said one Friday in early September. “I went from six cases (with 37 seven-oz. filets) to eight to 10 to 12 to 15, to 17. I brought 20 cases today. I fill up my fryer fast.”

Helping him on the fryer is his 18-year-old daughter Jerah, while his wife Jeannine also pitches in, taking the orders, handling the money and passing off fresh, fried fish with a smile.

Customers wait on average for about 15 to 20 minutes per order, but no one seems to mind the wait, as witnessed when a crowd of close to 20 lined up at around 3 p.m. in early September.

“The word of mouth has run this,” Jones said. “I see people from all walks of life. It’s just unbelievable that we made it to this point. Every week I see a new group of people. I don’t know where they come from.”

For RoseElla Lyke-Jones, she saw the trailer parked along Westnedge this spring and has been coming since.

“The grease is fresh and that makes a difference when you cook,” she said. “And Ryan’s a good person. Anytime you see him, he always has a smile, he’s always glad to see you. He knows you.”

For others, like Lucille Johnson, St. Lou-ish Fish has been their go-to on Fridays since Jones began serving up fish on Cork Street.

“It’s delicious, better than I could ever fry it,” Johnson said. “And every time I come out here there’s more and more people. That’s great for him. He’s doing his thing.”

The secret to his growing his success and his return business is in the consistency, Jones said.

The seasoning, like Jones, comes from St. Louis. And like everything else that goes into his fryer, it’s done exactly the same way every week, he said.

“You’ve got to do it right every time,” he said. “It’s got to be a science.”

Filets cost $6 apiece with $2 additional for fries. Condiments are included and include hot sauce, tartar and ketchup. Seniors 60 and up, veterans and active military and public safety members get $2 off.

For those looking for the perfect time to go, it’s been busy from the beginning of the day to the end the past couple months, said Jones, who fries up his fish in all types of weather.

“As soon as the line dies down, it’s ‘here they come again,’” he said. “I’m just happy with how the people are receiving us and straight up loving the food.”

Jones hopes to graduate soon to a covered truck to make the winter months easier, but he has no plans of closing up shop when it gets colder, something that makes customers like Davis happy.

“I haven’t missed one Friday yet,” Jones said. “If it rains I’ll be out here with an umbrella. If it snows, it doesn’t matter to me. It’s been a journey so far. I don’t treat it like ‘it’s a business, go out and get that money.’

“I throw all that out, and treat it like it’s an event, like a celebration.”

The truck serves fresh fried fish every Friday at 4412 S. Westnedge Ave. from 11:30 a.m. until all the fish is sold out (usually around 6 p.m.). They will be closing early, at 3 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 20, however.

Follow St. Lou-ish Fish on Facebook for more information.

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