Living in Jackson

Holding it all together

November 13, 2020

Feeding our Souls


Looking for stars on a cloudy night takes loads of patience. I know the bling is up there. I know if I stand still long enough, I can find a burst of light. The last ten months have been overcast by a virus cloud so thick it feels like it has smothered the stars, but I still stand out there, hopeful, looking for stars in other galaxies.

The promise of a good meal can help get me through the coming days, weeks, and months until the clouds dissipate. Think golden roast turkey, mashed potatoes with giblet gravy and warm pumpkin pie. But admit it. We are all tired of our own recipes, preparing our meals and washing up afterward.

My fellow workers at the Commercial Exchange found a hometown star and a local solution. Over coffee they described Sister-Sister’s daily specials. Ample portions. Colorful. Freshly prepared and delicious feel-good food perfectly seasoned and presented. And, it’s reasonably priced. They were talking “food porn.”

So I tried it. Indeed. I found a burst of light in the culinary galaxy of Jackson, Michigan.

Sister-Sister is a wildly successful, mid-pandemic startup, soul food restaurant. The startup catering service that began as Kenikakes on Lansing Avenue by Shakanna Blake and her Godmother, Marie Fletcher, now has been named Sister-Sister (a combination of good food for the soul) and relocated near the Martin Luther King Recreation Center on 1202 Martin Luther King Dr Street. I had to get there early. They were sold out in 3 hours.

One Facebook reviewer wrote, “Feeling down, stressed over this Covid19, but that Pineapple upside-down cupcake brought me back to life.”

When we find a star among us, we do more than celebrate. We support their business and spread the word.

That is why gift certificates for Sister-Sister’s Thanksgiving Day feast were given to our employees this year. Each of us can celebrate this local entrepreneur, enjoy her delicious homemade takeout meal, and come back to work restored.

We can be thankful that a bakery in Jackson now called Sister-Sister provides food that can feed our souls.