Della J’s Delectables to make new home at
Mount Vernon Plaza
Article courtesy of Mount Vernon On The MoVe, Erika Christ Editor
For the past five years, Jerry and Lydia Young have owned and operated Della J’s Delectables — a sit-down restaurant and bar featuring southern home cooking — at a small strip mall along Backlick Road in Springfield. Now, with the five-year lease up on their 2,400 square-foot space and a pressing need for a larger kitchen to accommodate the restaurant’s busy catering business, the Youngs are planning to make the move to a larger site this summer (June/July 2022) — specifically, to the former Ruby Tuesday space at Mount Vernon Plaza. The Richmond Highway corridor is familiar territory for the Youngs. Jerry’s dad was a member of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Gum Springs, and Jerry and Lydia got married there in 1988. The church’s current pastor, the Reverend Dr. Darrell Keith White, is a regular at Della J’s, though his commute there soon will be much shorter. The Young’s aim to move into the new space in June and open the restaurant for business by July. Lydia, who serves as the restaurant’s business manager, said they’re excited about the possibility of generating more foot traffic at the Route 1 location. Between now and move-in, they will be completely redesigning the facility externally and internally, giving the restaurant a more upscale feel than at the present site. While the comfort foods on the menu — based on Jerry’s mother Della’s recipes — will largely remain the same, some tweaks will be made based on Richmond Highway’s demographics, said Jerry. Despite having no formal training as a chef, Jerry grew up cooking with his mother and dabbled in the restaurant business on and off during a 39-year career with American Express. In the late 1990’s, he and Lydia had a take-out soul food restaurant in Woodbridge that “wasn’t sustainable,” said Jerry, due to the heaviness of the cuisine. In 2014, they began beta-testing a more diverse menu of items at the Springfield Farmer’s Market and began to get requests for a brick-and-mortar restaurant. Upon retiring from American Express in 2017, he and Lydia launched Della J’s in the town where they lived, aiming to bring “something that didn’t exist” to a very diverse neighborhood. While the Young’s have since hired a “fantastic chef” who has improved the restaurant’s catering business, Lydia still appreciates her husband’s skills in the kitchen. “He cooks good, and I eat good — it’s a match made in heaven,” she said. Named one of Yelp’s “Black-Owned Businesses to Watch” in 2022, Della J’s Delectables will soon be hiring for several positions at its new location at 7692 Richmond Highway in Alexandria.
Multi-Generation Meals: How Passed-Down
Family Recipes Have Built Food Legacies
by Nina Hemphill Reeder | February 26, 2019
AS WE COME TO THE CLOSE OF BLACK HISTORY MONTH, ESSENCE WANTS TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO AMERICAN CUISINE. AND, TODAY, WE THE HONOR THE FAMILY LEGACIES PASSED THROUGH FOOD. When you talk about family heirlooms, most think of jewelry, antique dinnerware or even a restored piece of furniture that has been handed down in the family for generations. But for many African-Americans, some of the most cherished inheritances are our own family recipes. For many of our ancestors, meals were their commodity; they were the bond that brought extended families together every week; they became creative ways to turn scraps into survival, and those recipes often became the family treasures that have continued to define our legacy. That’s certainly a familiar scenario for Jerry Young, who named his Springfield, Va., restaurant Della J’s Delectables after his mother. According to Young, many of his restaurant’s menu items were inspired by the meals his mother used to make when he was younger. “Helping her cook was an opportunity to spend time with her in the kitchen,” he fondly recalls of his late mother. “One of the things I remember is her turkey stuffing with the oysters. That was one of her deals. I got a request from one of my siblings to make her stuffing since my mom has been gone for almost 20 years. And my oldest brother commented on how much it tasted like mom’s—just the way she made it.”
Supporting Virginia's Black Restaurants
through COVID-19: Della J's Delectables
The Virginia Black Lifestyle Magazine (VBLM) will be featuring some of Virginia's Finest Black Owned Restaurants in our latest series, Supporting Black Restaurants through COVID-19.
by Nina Hemphill Reeder | February 26, 2019
"The name, Della J's Delectables, was inspired by my mother, Della, who along with my father, Lee, provided the inspiration for everything I do. I added my own modern twist to some of my mother’s favorite recipes and included a few new favorites, thus Della J’s was created." Jerry, Proprietor
VBLM: How has the State of Emergency impacted your business?
At first there was a lot of uncertainty and lack of direction and during the beginning weeks of the pandemic, sales were down approximately 75%. So we put together a strategy that would help us sustain our business until assistance could be obtained. We went over our numbers and made some projections and based on those projections we made the decision to push forward with trying to keep the restaurant open for carryout, thus we made major adjustments to our staff and our hours of operation yet we decided not to limit our menu. With the great support and generosity of our loyal customers, the community, and our staff, we have been able to weather the storm thus far by keeping our business open. In addition, with so many people at home and not wanting to cook, we have been introduced to an influx of new customers.
VBLM: What changes have you made to the way you conduct business in response to the latest Executive Orders?
Currently, we are still operating with only carryout and delivery available and we are not certain that we would immediately move to phase 2 when allowed, as we feel it is still too early to begin allowing customers for inside seating as our first priority is the safety and well being of our customers and staff. However, we are considering implementing outside seating and curbside dining for our customers.
VBLM: How can the VBLM Village support your business during this time?
Marketing is a key aspect of a successful business plan as well as a successful business and a comprehensive marketing strategy can be very expensive. Della J’s could benefit from the resources available to VBLM in helping to facilitate multi-dimensional marketing, i.e. television, social media, radio and print. —Cydny Neville, Publisher
To our readers:
Let's remember to support our own when we are ordering meals to-go during these times. Della J's Delectables is conveniently located off I-95 in the Springfield area, and serves an extensive selection of soul food that reminds us all of our grandmothers' cooking! We highly recommend their catfish entree with a side of delicious collard greens and macaroni and cheese! Be sure to tag them and #VBLM in your foodie post after your visit. Supporting Black Owned Restaurants through COVID-19 is up to us!