It’s a good day to be a Jones sister—well, at least, to be one of the Jones sisters featured on Queer Eye’s brand-new third season. Mary and Deborah Jones, a.k.a. “Shorty” and “Little,” got the full Fab Five treatment, but with a minor twist; instead of making over their homes, the Netflix show’s design guru, Bobby Berk, freshened up their beloved local restaurant, Jones Bar-B-Q. On top of that, the Jones sisters also brought their top-secret recipe to a bottling facility, making it available nationwide. And according to the sisters themselves, sales are already through the roof.
The Jones sisters were one of many inspirational families seen on Queer Eye this season, as the show traveled to Kansas City, Missouri—but they were also by far one of the most memorable. The women’s nominator, Deborah’s daughter, Izora, said the two reopened their establishment to help put her through college. “Their work ethic, it’s hustler all day; it’s like a moving train,” she said. “They are so willing to bend over backwards, and they’re always worried about everyone else . . . and I’m pretty sure they can’t do backbends anymore.” Thankfully, it sounds like the revenue their business generated over the weekend will cover more than a few days of vacation time, should they ever choose to take it.
“Let’s talk about the sauce,” says a post on the Jones Bar-B-Q Instagram. “As of yesterday morning, we sold 11,000 bottles. We averaged 1.7 bottles per minute this weekend. We are feeling so much love and support from all of you. THANK YOU to everyone who ordered a bottle. Your support means so much to us! . . . To all our friends from around the world asking for our sauce, we hear you! It is one of our goals to start shipping internationally soon.”
The sauce retails for $6.99 per bottle—which translates to $76,890 in revenue so far, not factoring in whatever cut the bottling facility likely takes. Either way, that could fund a more than substantial vacation to pretty much any destination the Joneses might choose—or, another option, thousands of shirts to French tuck, if the women want to do Tan proud.
More Great Stories from Vanity Fair
—The incredible story behind the making of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
— The long, strange history between Fox News host Jeanine Pirro and Donald Trump
— Why L.A. parents are terrified about the college-admissions scam
— Your first look at the modern revival of Tales of the City
— Cover story: Riding around with Beto O’Rourke as he comes to grips with a presidential run
Looking for more? Sign up for our daily Hollywood newsletter and never miss a story.
Get Vanity Fair’s HWD NewsletterSign up for essential industry and award news from Hollywood.Laura BradleyLaura Bradley is a Hollywood writer for VanityFair.com.