JoJo's Diner on Broadway

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Photo by Madoline Markham

0213 JoJo's Diner

JoJo's Diner Manager Zelda Resha and Owner Joe Resha.

For brother and sister Joe and Zelda Resha, food is all in the family. With inspiration from each parent seasoned in the restaurant business, plus their own flair, they opened JoJo’s Diner on Broadway in April.

“(The business) is in our blood, I guess,” Zelda said. “Joe was in the insurance business before, but he enjoys this a whole lot more.”

Joe, the owner, runs the kitchen and created the menu. Zelda, 10 years his junior, manages the cash register, waits tables and is also the restaurant baker. Occasionally Joe and Zelda’s mom, Phyllis, fills in for one of them, but generally you will find only the brother and sister and cooks William Robertson and Barrett Andrews.

The diner’s space is small, with four booths and four bar stools, but their business is continuous.

Meat dominates the menu, which is best known for its burgers and Reuben.

“Meat was always a subject in our house growing up,” Zelda said. “We grind our own combination of brisket and chuck for all the burgers. We corn the beef for our Rueben. People from up North are surprised that it tastes like one from home; they say it’s incredible.”

And everything on the menu has a story. Jinky’s Chicken Salad is their dad Tommy’s recipe and is named for a restaurant he used to own. The Jerk Chicken Sandwich evolved from a Jerk Chicken appetizer Tommy served at his restaurants. The marinated chicken is topped with grilled peppers and onion and spread with Joe’s jerk mayo.

The whole family loves spicy things, so Joe created a hot burger with pepper jack cheese, jalapeño dill pickles and chipotle ranch on a jalapeño cheddar bun.

Joe is also the mastermind behind all their daily specials, which they post on Facebook.

“He doesn’t go by any recipes, and it’s always incredible,” Zelda said.

A cousin nicknamed Babs suggested they make a burger with fried egg on top; the Babs burger is a bacon cheeseburger with a fried egg.

Pretty much everything on the menu — eggs, fries, burgers, even lettuce and tomatoes — is sprinkled with Joe’s special seasoning mix.

“We call it the ‘248,’” Zelda said. “Joe made it up.”

Another specialty ingredient is the JoJo sauce, their blend of mustard, mayonnaise and ketchup.

“I can’t tell you much more than that, but it’s incredible,” Zelda said. “People put it on fries, burgers and anything else they can. It’s not barbecue-y like other burger sauces.”

JoJo’s all-beef hot dogs are topped with Downtown Sauce, another one of Joe’s secrets. It’s like a chili sauce. The Broadway Dog is topped with sauerkraut and onion, and the Slaw Dog with a vinegar-based Lebanese (Tommy is Lebanese) slaw sauce made with lemon, olive oil and mint.

For the winter season, Joe is serving up his specialty brisket, sausage, bacon, beef and bean chili, served with a grilled cheese.

One last – but certainly not least – note on the menu: breakfast is served all day.

“We are the only place I know where people can order a burger with a side of grits,” Zelda said.

And to top off a meaty sandwich, JoJo’s makes milkshakes with whole milk, ice cream and syrup, or Zelda always has an offering of brown sugar cookies, cake pops or her latest creation, Crème Brulee Cupcakes.

This month, Jo Jo’s is expanding into retail space to the right of the diner and will start selling Alabama craft beer and wine.

Zelda said their customers are becoming like family, too, as they are watching kids grow up.

Joe is a 1995 Homewood High School graduate. Zelda recently moved to the area and said she doesn’t plan to leave.

The close ties of brother and sister to the business of feeding people and making them happy, and doing so in Homewood, are likely to stay strong to the next generation – Joe’s 3-year-old son, Joseph Jr. or “Jo Jo,” is the diner’s namesake after all.