Jones Scones: Here's What Happened After Shark Tank

British scones are quite different from American scones. Lighter and less sweet, scones in the U.K. are traditionally served with clotted cream and jam for afternoon and high tea. Classic fruit scones are so popular, they're even enjoyed by the British royal family, served every summer at Buckingham Palace, and baked by their own Royal Pastry Chefs.

It's no wonder American "Shark Tank" contestant J. Jones fell in love with scones while living in England — so much so that when Jones moved back to the United States to attend law school, he found himself missing the U.K. treats. So, he began baking his own all-natural cream scones.

Jones was a busy man. A lawyer by profession, Jones was also a singer — he performed soul, blues, and ballads, and had even won a local contest, "Denver's Next Nightclub Star." However, baking was his passion, and after receiving positive feedback on his scones, the company Jones Scones was born. Eventually, Jones wanted to bring his take on British-style scones to a larger audience, and decided to go on "Shark Tank." Would any of the sharks want to take a bite?

J. Jones first appeared on Season 4 of "Shark Tank" in April 2013 to ask the sharks for an investment of $100,000 for 25% of his company, "Jones Scones." Before presenting to the panel, Jones had managed to get his scones into all Whole Foods locations, and planned to continue making his scones for retail and food service providers. His business had grown from the days when he delivered scones in his Jeep. At his most successful, he claimed to be selling $113,000 worth of scones each week.

But then, a huge setback with a co-packer — which Jones said occured because he was not present to oversee production thoroughly — rattled his business. Jones said his scones went from being nationally distributed to all Whole Foods locations to just six stores, and sales plummeted. The sharks were not impressed by the tank in profits.

Nor, sadly, were they particularly impressed by the scones themselves. Robert Herjavec described them as dry —an issue that might have been due to them being under a heat lamp for too long while Jones was busy preparing for the show. One by one, the sharks dropped out. Though they found him to be a very likable character, Jones left without a deal.

A showman at heart, J. Jones revealed in a post-show interview that he had not been nervous about appearing on "Shark Tank." He even sang to the sharks, though his serenade didn't make it into the final cut.

Despite not securing a deal on "Shark Tank," Jones made the most of the publicity he received after his episode aired. In a YouTube video shared in April 2013, Jones revealed that he had been diagnosed with colon cancer before he filmed "Shark Tank" and had undergone surgery five weeks before he met the sharks. While honored to be on "Shark Tank" and to share his "moist, critically acclaimed scones" with the world, he wanted to share, on a more serious note, that he had teamed up with the Colon Cancer Alliance to launch a crowd-funder for the cause.

Additionally, Jones appeared on a local Colorado radio show later that year. Past social media posts connected to Jones' business suggest that Jones Scones continued to sell online mail-order scones available in cranberry, blueberry, and chocolate chip flavors, as well as a gluten-free option, through at least September 2013.

After appearing to take a temporary break, Jones Scones relaunched in 2015, offering discounted scones by mail order with a re-opening sale. Then, in 2016, J. Jones released a new YouTube video detailing his hopes of getting Jones Scones into Starbucks. "I think I can make that happen, with your help," he said in the video, which received over 1,300 views. 

Jones Scones stopped posting on Instagram in 2013. Five years later, Jones Scones posted its last Facebook post promoting its scones in July 2018, the same month its last tweet went live. Though a few additional posts about acts of kindness and doing the right thing appeared on the company's Facebook feed, no official statement was made at the time about why Jones Scones ceased operations in the second half of 2018, and the company's website is no longer active.

J. Jones continued to practice law after Jones Scones ceased trading in 2018. He also founded his own practice, specializing in family law and divorce law. According to his LinkedIn profile, Jones still enjoyed making scones in his free time, alongside spending time with his family, weightlifting, and singing at local venues.

On May 7, 2021, Jones suffered a major stroke and was airlifted to a regional hospital. Jones died on May 18, 2021, according to the GoFundMe page set up by Jones' friends and family.