Popular Jackson eatery brings an ‘experience’ to East Lansing

Before choosing  East Lansing as the location of the second RJ’s Burgers & Ice Cream Co., co-owners Robert and Yvette Wilkie often encountered customers who drove from Lansing to Jackson to grab burgers, shakes and ice cream.

“We had so many customers coming in, not just from Lansing but all over the state of Michigan,” Robert Wilkie said. “And we really felt a connection with our Lansing customers. We got quite a few, and we thought this would be a great location to open up a second RJ’s.”

The store opened Dec. 9 inside part of the former Brookfield Plaza Rite Aid.

On the sweet side, it serves 32 rotating ice cream flavors sourced from Michigan-based companies Ashby’s Sterling Ice Cream and MOO-ville Creamery, along with shakes and floats, ice cream nachos and edible cookie dough. Savory offerings include burgers, turkey burgers, hoagies and a range of flavored fries.

Customers would be hard-pressed to notice the building’s history as a Rite Aid. The space has been completely redesigned, with cotton-candy-colored walls ice-cream-drip trim making it feel like a world in itself within the strip mall it inhabits.

The decor is part of the RJ’s “experience” — a word Robert brings up repeatedly when explaining the store’s success.

“We make a good product, but we also want to sell an experience,” he said. “You can be having a down day, but when you come in here, you feel revived. You just feel the energy in here. That’s what we base our business on.”

RJ’s has a reputation in Jackson, where it began as Heavenly Delights in 2014.

Yvette started baking that year after losing her son, RJ, shortly after his birth. What began as a form of grief therapy has grown into a hobby and passion.

After multiple pivots, Heavenly Delights shifted to serving burgers and ice cream and became RJ’s, named after the Wilkies’ son. It has since won accolades, including the Michigan Celebrates Small Business Best Small Business Award. The attention even brought Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to the East Lansing location’s grand opening.

Just a week after opening, RJ’s already had a steady stream of customers on a weekday. Some had been to the Jackson store already, while others were new. Robert said the “experience” must be working, since he and his wife “haven’t really done any marketing on our end yet.”

“We’ve just been letting the community take it through word of mouth, which I think is the best advertisement,” he said. “And it’s been going well since we’ve been here. We’ve had people in and out the door all day.”

The Wilkies said they are purpose-driven, aiming to make people’s days better, mentor young employees by example and bring joy to the community.

“We feel like we were led to this location,” Robert said. “We feel like there’s a purpose behind what we do, and this is where God put us.”