Jean’s Beans ready for next generation of owners after celebrating 70 years
Zachary Canaperi/Watertown Daily Times
Mark Bowman, a soon-to-be owner of Jean’s Beans, fries fish during their 70th anniversary celebration in Sept. 2023, during which about 1,000 pounds of fish were cooked for customers. Zachary Canaperi/Watertown Daily Times
WATERTOWN— Last weekend was not an ordinary one for Jean’s Beans.
The well-known restaurant, which opened in July 1953, was celebrating its 70th anniversary.
When customers walked through its blue doors at 259 Eastern Boulevard on Saturday, they were first greeted by smells of freshly baked doughnuts and fried haddock, carried on the warm air from the busy kitchen, where cookware clanked and oil sizzled.
Shortly after, they received their second warm greeting — a hello from one of the restaurant’s workers.
Jane Bowman, owner of Jean’s Beans, prioritizes having positive interactions with customers.
“One of my policies is, for every customer that comes in, they are supposed to be greeted, treated with respect, and if it is at all possible, what the customer wants, the customer gets,” she said.
Jean’s Beans has remained faithful to this business model, which Bowman said creates a sense of community.
“We have customers that come in, and it’s like they are personal friends,” Bowman said. “We know about their lives, and they know about ours.”
This makes it feel less like doing business and more like walking into a friend’s house.
“It’s beyond just a place to come get food,” she said. “People come to talk to us, we talk to them. It is a community type of institution.”
Jean’s Beans on Eastern Boulevard celebrates its 70th anniversary, Sept. 2023. Zachary Canaperi/Watertown Daily Times
Jean’s Beans began in the early 20th century, when a French chef named Jean started peddling his baked beans in the streets of Syracuse. A man named Frank J. Childs bought his recipes and created Jean’s Beans on East Fayette Street in Syracuse, selling salads, beans and fish.
Bowman’s godfather, Richard Childs, took over the business. After World War II, her father, Neil Fuller, started working at Jean’s Beans part-time while attending Syracuse University. Childs saw the potential in Fuller and set him up in business, which included sites in Watertown, Carthage, Ogdensburg and Elmira.
“He was really a hard worker,” Bowman said. “When he was set up for business up here, he had nothing really...It paid off in a year.”
Fuller was “pretty demanding, but fair,” she added.
While the Watertown location is the only one remaining from the original chain, it has stood the test of time, and doesn’t appear to be going anywhere, anytime soon.
John Law, a Jean’s Beans employee for the past 6 years and a 42 year veteran of the food industry, brings his enthusiasm for cooking to work. Zachary Canaperi/Watertown Daily Times
After announcing the 70th anniversary celebration on Facebook, the post received lots of attention, including 670 shares, 377 likes, and 88 comments.
Many of the comments were people mentioning how they are lifelong customers of Jean’s Beans.
Carol Schofield and her son, Eric, both Watertown natives who belong to that category, stopped by Saturday for the anniversary celebration.
Eric said the thing that has kept them coming back for so many years is, “The fish, it’s so good.”
Eric said he has brothers who moved away from Watertown, living as far away as the West Coast, but they still talk about visiting Jean’s Beans once again to taste the signature fried fish.
According to Bowman, the famous haddock comes from Iceland, and
Carol Schofield, left, and her son, Eric Schofield, lifelong Jean’s Beans customers, stopped by for the restaurants 70th anniversary celebration, Sept. 2023. Zachary Canaperi/Watertown Daily Times
their policy is that it can’t be frozen twice, must be boneless, skinless and the largest they can find.
“We have our own batter that we make from scratch, and it is the original recipe that was used by Jean in the streets of Syracuse,” she said.
Bowman estimated that 1,000 pounds of haddock were cooked during the weekend.
Faye Matthews, Felts Mills, is another lifelong Jean’s Beans customer, and she contributed to a small portion of the weekend’s fish frenzy. Matthews said she has been going to the restaurant on and off for 60 years.
“I have family that come up from Georgia every year, and when they come, this is the first place they want to eat,” Matthews said. The reason, she said: the fish.
“It’s awesome. Anywhere else you buy it, it’s just not as good. And all of their salads are good. Everything is wonderful,” Matthews said.
“Maybe the price might be a little pricey, but it’s worth it,” she added. “That’s why I keep coming back.”
Fish sandwiches, still warm from the fryer at Jean’s Beans, are ready to go to a customer during the restaurant’s 70th anniversary celebration, Sept. 2023. Zachary Canaperi/Watertown Daily Times
Just like their commitment to their family, along with friendly service, the business has also stayed faithful to Jean. Bowman said that not only the fish, but everything they make, still uses the same exact recipes that Jean used on the streets of Syracuse in the early 1900s.
At the end of the year, however, a big change will be occurring in the Jean’s Beans world.
“I am retiring at the end of this year, and my son and daughter are going to take over,” Bowman said.
Her children, Mark Bowman and Heather Williams, have been working at Jean’s Beans since their teenage years, and Bowman said it is time to pass the torch to them.
She said she is excited for the transition and plans to do more traveling with her husband. Being country music fans, they plan to see more concerts, some of which she already has lined up for next year.