Where Is Jones Scones From Shark Tank Today?

For a while, it seemed like the plot of a movie. A man moved to England, and his life was changed by pastry. He moved back to the U.S. and went to law school, baking as a passion. His friends and coffee shop compatriots, enamored with the moist cakiness of his scones, told him he had to sell them. He got his scones into Whole Foods and quit law school. He's one heck of a character: a black belt, a nightclub singer who won a local TV competition. His scones were bringing in $113,000 each month. Then came the cancer diagnosis. And a slip with his packer. His sales plummeted to $5,000 a month. He needed help.

And that man, J. Jones, went on Shark Tank. Jones was looking for an investment of $100,000 in exchange for 25% of his business. The Sharks liked him — from the looks of it, everyone did — but at the end of the day, they just weren't impressed with the scones. Jones got one "no" after another, but he didn't let it stop him.

Jones kept selling scones for another 10 years, seemingly shuttering the business in 2018 and committing fully to his law practice. On May 18, 2021, Jones died, days after a massive stroke.

Though the Sharks weren't impressed by the company's tank in profits (or the scones, for that matter), Jones Scones wasn't done. But the company never saw the huge success that founder J. Jones had hoped for. After appearing on the show in April 2013, Jones rode some of the publicity throughout the rest of the year, appearing on a local Colorado radio show. Then, it seems, Jones stepped back to rework the business in 2014.

The Shark Tank Blog reported that Jones found a new co-packer in a closer location, allowing him to personally respond to any issues. Jones Scones re-launched in 2015 with online mail-order scones through a direct-to-consumer website and blueberry cream, cranberry cream, and chocolate chip scone recipes. It is unclear whether or not Jones found any distribution deals with his scones. 

The Jones Scones Facebook page reached 1,000 likes that May. Jones Scones continued to post on social media through 2018, especially about the Spread the Love initiative to encourage folks to do nice things for others. The company never officially posted that it was closing up shop, but Jones' social media pivoted to mostly law in late 2016.

J. Jones never fully stopped practicing law while he was baking his scones and running Jones Scones. As any entrepreneur does, Jones continued to throw opportunities at the wall to see what would stick. In 2017, he joined a family law firm as a business development attorney. And in 2018, he joined another firm as a client retention attorney. In 2019, Jones started a consulting business for lawyers and founded his own practice, focusing on family law, divorce law, and DUI law.

Even after shutting down Jones Scones, Jones continued to bake in his free time. On May 7, 2021, Jones suffered a major stroke and was airlifted to a regional hospital, according to the GoFundMe page set up on behalf of his wife and daughter. 

Though it's not Jones' recipe, if you're in the mood for scones, try this fresh cranberry cream scone recipe.