JAY INTERNATIONAL FOOD CO.
A Note to the Reader
Dear Reader,
Thank you for taking the time to read our short magazine on Jay International Food Co., a beloved family-owned and family-run international grocery store near Tower Grove. We’re so grateful to Jojo — the grandson of the store’s founder, Nivat Prapaisilapa — for welcoming us into his family’s shop and agreeing to answer a couple questions we had for him. In just a few pages despite being far too short to entirely encompass how great Jay’s is we hope to show off the comforting beauty of Jay International Food Co.
Now, who’s this we? Well, long story short, Gerald Tien, Kaitlyn Fleckner, Jon Arora and I all of us students at WashU enrolled in a class called Glocal Learning: Engaging with the World Locally taught by Liz Shabani, our wonderful professor. For our final project, we wanted to get out into the St. Louis community and highlight a gem that WashU students might not know about. When we found Jay’s, we knew it was perfect, from the way it highlights and uplifts international and multi-cultural voices, embraces and supports the St. Louis community, and exemplifies what it means to be a great business. We, as a team, were so excited to visit the store, and are now so pleased to take what we learned and turn it into this magazine.
To connect with Jay International Food Co., you can visit the storefront at 3172 S Grand Blvd, St. Louis, MO 63118 and find them on Instagram through @jaysinternationalfoods. You’ll see why throughout the magazine, but I highly recommend giving Jay’s a visit it’s amazing.
That said, all the best and happy reading.
- Francisco Lucca, Gerald Tien, Kaitlyn Fleckner, and Jon AroraAn Overview of Jay International Food Co.
Jay's International Foods is a grocery store in the South Grand neighborhood, specializing in importing and distributing high-quality international foods to customers. Jay's International was founded in the 1970s by Nivat Prapaisilapa with Uncle Jay when his family relocated here from Thailand. Initially, the store was called Jay Asia, but with the growing international community and population, the name was changed to Jay International Food Co.
Since first-generation diaspora communities from Europe, Africa, and Asia have contributed to St. Louis' cultural diversity and its food scene, Jay International Foods sources its products from countries all over the world, including India, China, Japan, Thailand, Korea, Europe, and a whole bunch of other countries. The company's range of products is diverse, and it caters to the needs and preferences of customers from different cultures and backgrounds. They sell produce, meat, and dairy, but the real draw, to me, is the huge selection of hard-to-find packaged goods worldwide.
Jay International Foods has built a strong reputation for providing high-quality and authentic international foods and products at low prices and excellent services. This is mainly because Jay's International Food doesn't rely heavily on the advertisement and social media; instead, it stands out because of its reputation. Now the store is a "melting pot" with goods from the Caribbean, Bosnia, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Nepal, South America, and other world areas.
In addition to its commitment to quality and customer service, Jay International Foods is committed to working with international institutes. The company recognizes the importance of the international community and refugees. As such, the company aims to be involved in the St. Louis community by helping refugees and international people.
The St. Louis Community
Jay International is located on Grand Boulevard which is in the South Grand Neighborhood which runs through the center of St. Louis. It is an influential focal point of the international community in St. Louis.
Jay International does an exceptional job of adjusting its products and inventory based on the types of international communities that are prevalent. With the number of Afghan immigrants and refugees coming to St. Louis, Jay International will adjust the products it holds to accommodate their needs. Jojo said that he wants to make sure Jay International has whatever will make people feel most at home. The impact of Jay International goes beyond St. Louis as well as customers from as far as two states away come to shop as there are little accommodating international grocers near them.
Jay International gives so much more than a diversified array of food to the community as it also provides jobs for local immigrants and refugees in the community. Jojo works closely with the International Institute of St. Louis to find and hire people in need of work. Jay International provides an extremely comfortable and flexible work environment for its employees.
In the next five to ten years Jojo hopes that Jay International will be able to turn into a Chelsea Market like the one in New York City where local vendors come to sell their products. Overall, Jay International is a pillar in the St. Louis community and will continue to be in the future.
Reflection
Visiting Jay’s International Food & Co. was incredibly empowering due to the strong sense of pride and dedication the business has to better St. Louis’ international community. Specifically, Jojo echoed his aspirations to foster support for sourcing locally since many talented individuals are not only in need of jobs but provide exposure to enriching global experiences.
Particularly, regarding cultivating enthusiasm for cultural dishes, Jojo has perfected a shopper’s experience via his diverse offerings and usage of flags, which strategically lower language barriers while highlighting must-try items. Thus, as we walked around the store, we could not help but reminisce over Hadeelah’s a woman that our entire team had the pleasure of meeting when she came to out class sentiments in which she praised the store for considering even the smallest details that reminded her of home. Similarly, we also felt honored by Jay’s for stocking food that echoed parallels to our heritages, which get lost in larger chain stores.
Impressed, we asked Jojo how we as a community at WashU can better support his store to which he responded with gratitude for all the university has already done to better shape St. Louis and its ambitious entrepreneurs like him. Nonetheless, hoping to give back, we are going to suggest that our dining services highlight Jay’s International Food & Co. on its Instagram page. Specifically, we believe if students are made aware that the same family which runs the incredibly popular Thai Country Cafe also owns Jay’s International Food & Co, more people will make an effort to visit the grocery store.
Additionally, after hearing Jojo discuss his family’s immigration journey from Thailand in which they fought adversity to create an international hub right here in St. Louis, we encourage everyone to make an effort to support his business. This is because, Jay’s International Food & Co. represents the true pinnacle of how our nation is immensely benefited from the talent of immigrants. Overall, to lead by inquiry, one must delve into the mile-high isles of Jay’s and see what foods eagerly await to rekindle their sense of identity.
Snack Time: A Food Review
They might be guilty pleasures, but I’m not ashamed to admit two important characteristics of mine: one, that I love a good snack; and two, that I love to pretend to be a critique. So, what better way to unify these two passions, then to do a review of a few snacks that I picked up at Jay’s during our team’s visit.
Walking through the store, there we so many great snacks that I hadn’t seen before I wanted to try everything! But, I had to limit myself, so the snacks I bought were Sfogliatine Glassate, Mr John’s Ripe Spicy Plantain Chips, and Golden Dragon Inc.’s Fortune Cookies. As soon as I got back to my dorm after our team’s trip to Jay’s, I dove in to my delicious assortment of snacks.
The first thing I tried were the Sfogliatine Glassate, which appeared to be these rectangular puffed pasty cookies, and after doing a little research I found that I was right. Sfogliatine Glassate, directly translated from Italian, means frosted sheets, and the snack itself is glazed puff pastry. And oh! what delicious glazed puff pastry they were!
Light and delicate when you bite into them, with just a hint of sweetness from the glaze. I scarfed down like six in one sitting; they were just so good. I highly recommend them, and I’ll definitely be buying some more whenever I head back to Jay’s.
I tried the Plantain Chips next. I’ve grown up eating plantain chips every other dinner my dad would put out a bowl of plantain chips for the family to snack on. However, I had never seen Mr John’s Ripe Spicy Plantain Chips before, so I was so excited to try them. And, wow, they were so yummy! A great about of spice with the amazing flavor of the plantain. I couldn’t get enough!
Golden Dragon Inc.’s Fortune Cookies were delicious as well a fun treat to crack open and eat. The texture of the cookies were amazing, with the signature fortune cookie taste, and the fortune I got made me smile. Since I bought a whole bag of them, I must have a lot of good fortune coming my way!
Overall, I had a great time sampling some snacks that I hadn’t tried before, and everything I purchased was super yummy at an affordable price too! I can’t wait for my next trip to Jay’s to replenish the snacks I’m already done with, and by some more treats!
The team, from left to right: Gerald Tian, Jon Arora, Kaitlyn Fleckner, & Francisco Lucca