EAST BERNE — On June 4, Wright’s Delights became Jersey’s, named after a beloved pit bull. Dan Marshall, owner of the dog and the restaurant, said he got into the business because he wanted to provide the community with a place for good food.
"We make normal home-cooking — stuff your grandma or your mom would make," Marshall said.

He believes that most think of Jersey’s solely as an ice-cream store, but, he said, he’s trying to change that. In addition to providing home-cooking, Marshall said, he’s planning on trying more ethnic food nights at the take-out and dine-in restaurant.

The restaurant recently had a Mexican night.
"That was fun," he said. "We’re going to try an ethnic night now and then — Polish, Italian, Vietnamese."

Jersey’s, he said, is also a great place for stories, and many of his customers are locals. Marshall uses a lot of local sources for his ingredients and knows many of his clients.
"There are a lot of hard-working, local people who come in," he said.

Marshall, who lives on Cole Hill Road, grew up in Stillwater (Saratoga County), and moved to Berne in 2001. During the day, he works as an engineer for Industrial Process Design. Between his day job, and running the restaurant, he said, he puts in more than 100 hours a week.
"That’s Wanda, too," he said.

Wanda Williams, who runs the store with Marshall, said she works two other jobs — one as a waitress, the other as a full-time analyst at a power plant.
Marshall said that, throughout his life, he has been involved in the restaurant business "on and off." "Altogether, it’s been probably six years," he said.

Since opening Jersey’s in June, Marshall said, he’s seen a wide spectrum of clients.
"Primarily, we see families. There might be a couple of kids who come in and split an order of fries. Sometimes it’s an older couple. It’s not one specific age range," he said.

As a restaurant-owner, Marshall said, he does all jobs.

His duties, he said, range from cooking in the back, to helping in the front of the restaurant. He also washes dishes and does much of the cooking.

When Marshall and Williams are both in the restaurant, sharing duties, Marshall said, Williams helps customers in the front, and he likes to be in the back, cooking.
"I like making pizza," Marshall said.

A few weeks before he began running the business on his own, he said, the former owners, the Wrights, trained him in the well-established restaurant.

Marshall said he’d like to make a few changes.

One of his goals, he said, is to turn the restaurant’s pavilion — which provides overhead shelter to customers during summer months — into a dining room. Marshall also said that, during the winter, he’s going to make some major menu changes.

Jersey’s has daily lunch and dinner and home-made soup specials.

Jersey’s menu items include: non-alcoholic beverages, rib dinners, wraps, sandwiches, burgers, pizza, chicken tenders, chicken wings, and Hershey’s ice cream, shakes, and sundaes.

Menu items range in price from $2.99, for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, to $33.24 for a 24-cut supreme pizza.

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Jersey’s, located at 83 Main St. in East Berne, is open from 6:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday; from 6:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and from 4 to 9 p.m. on Friday; from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday; and from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday. The restaurant is closed Mondays.