Anyone from the Southeast part of East Baton Rouge Parish that has ever had a donut, has more than likely had one of Jay’s Donuts. Jay’s has been a part of Southeast Baton Rouge since the mid 70s and was originally located on Cedarcrest near Airline. The bakery now sits on the corner of South Harrell’s Ferry and O’neal and has been there since 1987. Aside from great pastry products including donuts, muffins and king cakes, Jay’s is well known in the area for the quirky messages he often puts up on his sign out front  poking fun at current political topics or issues around Baton Rouge. Unfortunately, however, because of a current roadway project in Baton Rouge, Jay’s will be forced to close his doors at the current location. The Baton Rouge Green Light Plan is currently executing the much needed upgrade to the intersection on which Jay’s Donuts is located. South Harrell’s Ferry Road at O’Neal Lane is being widened to a full 4 lane intersection, which is a part of a full 4 lane upgrade to O’Neal in both directions and Harrell’s Ferry Road to the west, all the way to it’s intersection with Sherwood Forest Blvd. If you live in the area (as I do) and have to use O’Neal Lane daily, then infrastructure improvements such as these are a very welcomed site. However, if you live in the area and are a regular customer at Jay’s Donuts, then you are also sad that there are some unwelcome results to the expansion we so desperately need.  Unfortunately, since Jay’s is located on such a small piece of property, once the city buys all the land they need for the road expansion, there will not be enough left for Jay’s to continue to operate.

Jay’s owner, Jay Lindsey has a current offer on the table from the City Parish, for his property, losses and relocation expenses. After speaking with Jay briefly at a recent meeting, he is concerned that the offer made to him will not be sufficient enough to relocate his donut shop to a comparable location. When eminent domain takes enough of a portion of property that the current business located there has to relocate, it is the responsibility of the city government to supply the owner with enough money to relocate his establishment to a comparable location and a comparable facility. Jay is currently looking at other possible locations in East Baton Rouge Parish, but will not be moving forward with any plans until he settles up with the City Parish.  The grim side of these situations for business/property owners  is that whether or not you agree with what the City offers you for the hassle of closing, rebuilding and relocating, you must be gone, one way or another, on the date that they set forth. For Jay’s, this date is March 28th, which is currently displayed on his sign out front.

For local Jay’s fans, Jay says that he has not found anywhere in the immediate area that he feels is a good enough location to rebuild, so it looks like even if he continues to carry on the Jay’s tradition, residents of the Jones Creek, Shenendoah, White Oak Landing and St. Jean area will have to travel a good bit to enjoy those hot donuts they have grown so accustomed to having. We will keep you posted on the Jay’s Donuts story as it continues to unfold, so stay tuned here for the latest updates. In the meantime, if you have a Facebook account, you can join the Jay’s Donuts page by clicking here.