INDUSTRY – The story behind JaM is really a love story: a labor of love; the love for, and of, family and friends; the love of cooking and good food; the love of a husband for his wife, and the love of a woman who wants to make other people happy.
That’s JaM – for Joel and Melissa (Leinard) – and the reimagined Lunchbox Café in Industry. The Leinards bought the diner on a Wednesday in October 2024 and began running it as their own the next day. The pair ate in the café for about six months before they decided to buy it, and one of the main reasons, besides Melissa’s skills in the kitchen and running a restaurant, was because they loved the extended-family-like atmosphere of The Lunchbox.
Melissa, who learned to cook when she was pregnant with her first child, has almost always worked in the restaurant business – either owning or managing (she owned the former Macomb Family Diner for nine years, which was originally located next to West Side Lumber on West Jackson Street, which she sold to a couple who reopened as Max & Molly’s) – or waitressing. She also loves to cook (but, especially loves to bake), so the food service industry is right up her alley. Joel, who worked as plumber for 30 years until a recent diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer’s, is their family’s “house husband” while Melissa runs JaM.
“The Lunchbox was around for about nine or more years, but this place has been here for a long time. It was a pharmacy and soda fountain in the 50s,” Joel explained. “It has really been a place where everyone sees everyone and it’s an important place for this community. When we first opened last year, we had some people in tears because they were so happy that we were continuing to run it as a hometown restaurant.”
The couple – who are the parents to six children, with their last graduating just recently from Macomb High School – moved from Macomb and now live just about across the street from JaM so Melissa’s commute is easy and she can throw herself into their work. The diner, which opens at 5:30 a.m., serves breakfast until 10:30 a.m., and lunch until 2 p.m., Mondays and Tuesdays, and is open from 5:30 a.m. until 8 p.m., Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays (the restaurant is currently closed on the weekends due to limited staffing but Leinards are hoping that will change). One of their biggest draws (besides being the only restaurant in the town of close to 400) is that nearly everything on the menu is made fresh from scratch, with quality ingredients, by the chief cook and bottle washer, Melissa.
“I love to cook, and while I’ve done other things here and there, I always came back to the restaurant business,” she shared. “I love owning JaM and seeing people happy, seeing them smile when they have a good meal. I’ll spend hours a day going through Pinterest to come up with new recipes, and I take suggestions from our customers. And I bounce ideas off of Joel and greatly value his input. We have daily specials, for both lunch and dinner, and Doris Carman makes our pies. I love to bake, but I don’t have time right now since I am doing all the cooking, but Doris is famous for her pies so we’re fortunate to her as a part of JaM.”
As mentioned previously, while the diner isn’t open on weekends, the couple is quick to point out that if someone sees them inside JaM during “off hours,” give a knock and Melissa will make them a meal.
“We like helping people out,” Joel added. “If they’re hungry and they need something and we’re here, they’re welcome to come in. We’re not in this for the money, we’re here for people and our community.”
Joel is also quick to say how good his wife’s food is, to the point where he can no longer even stomach fast food or store-bought baked goods and meals. When talking about his wife’s skills and her dedication, it’s clear that Joel is devoted to – and incredibly proud of – Melissa. The feeling appears mutual.
“While we opened this restaurant for the community, she also did this for me so we could be together as my disease progresses,” Joel explained. “This keeps me close by, but I also wanted her to do what she loved. This is all her, and I’m here for moral support. She is an incredible cook and baker and she loves seeing people happy. I want her to be happy so I take care of what I can - when and while I can - for her. I love her so that’s why I do what I can for her.”
That includes cooking for his wife because when she’s done for the day, she’s done, Melissa said with a laugh. JaM currently has three employees (including one of The Lunchbox’s longtime servers), and a few of their younger kids help out; however, the bulk of the work falls to Melissa, who can often be found at the diner well before 5 a.m. and sometimes long after 8 p.m. prepping for the next day. Sidenote: JaM is currently seeking an additional cook and more wait staff. Those interested can apply in person at 209 W. Main.
Melissa’s goal is to hire another full-time cook so she can focus more on her first love: baking. Her dream is to open a bakery someday in the building space they also purchased next door. Melissa used to make 500 homemade cream horns every week for the Macomb Country Club and for the Farmer’s Market, which are her favorite (but what she calls a “pain but worth it because they’re delightful”). That process includes hand-shredding 10 pounds of frozen butter (Editor’s Note: She made a muscle as we laughed when she was explaining the process of hand-shredding frozen butter). She does still do some baking for friends and family, including homemade bread and birthday cakes.
What makes JaM worth the drive from Macomb, Rushville and parts in-between? The couple nearly answered at the same time: the made-from-scratch food (from homemade sausage gravy at breakfast to hand-patted burgers to homemade tenderloins to made-fresh hand-breaded fried chicken on Wednesdays to all the salad dressings made in-house) made from quality ingredients and the family-like ambiance. She’s also exploring the possibility of boxing up leftovers and offering them for sale as good “grab-and-go” items.
“I could put her Caesar dressing on everything,” Joel laughed. “And she has a chopped steak that everyone loves. And she does a pulled pork baked potato. I could go on and on.”
While the menu has changed, the exterior and interior of the little diner has remained largely the same to date as the Leinards are focusing on spending more on good ingredients, as well as making some much-needed external (and not-so-visible) repairs.
“It’s an old building, so there’s a lot to do. We need a new roof, we’ve had to make some equipment upgrades and some other immediate repairs,” Joel declared. “We want to make this a nice place for people to come here to eat and to visit.”
Melissa added, “we’re putting what we make back into the business and the food to ensure we’re as hospitable as possible.
“I’d love to see this place full and have lots of families comes in. All my kids are grown up, so I want to cook for other families,” Melissa said. “Come in, give us a try.”
Get in my belly! JaM specializes in made-from-scratch food made with quality ingredients which also includes Doris Carman’s pies.
