NBC News recently featured a story on Prison University Project alum Jay Ly and his post-release work as a restauranteur excerpted below:
For Jay Ly, every workday is different.
Sometimes, he gets up at 6 a.m. to meet with contractors at the two currently under construction locations of a Cajun restaurant that he co-founded with friends called Stinkin Crawfish. Other times, he’s at the restaurant’s three existing branches, fixing the occasional clogged drain or broken power outlet.
He’s also busy coordinating with a friend and business partner about the two new locations, which are slated to be up and running by early 2017, perhaps even sooner.
It’s a major change of pace from how Ly used to spend his days several years ago, when he was an inmate at four different correctional facilities, including San Quentin State Prison.
“The last 20 years of my life have been a whirlwind of events,” he told NBC News. “Most times, I’m grateful, and I just enjoy the fresh air, the ability to walk down the street, buy what I want and eat what I want to eat.”
