JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- They are the Southern staples that Executive Chef Celestia Mobley says always kept people coming back for more. "Most of the recipes are from my grandmother. They were passed down, passed down, passed down," she said.
She has been watching her family's old recipes do their magic from the kitchen since she was 8 years old. "When they come in, I expect them to be hungry. And when they leave I expect them to be happy and full."
Mobley and her team of cooks now feed hundreds through The Potter's House Soul Food Bistro.
"We put love in our food. And we take care of what we do," said Mobley.
"There are so many restaurants that are doing the same thing, but you get stuff here that you don't get anywhere else," said customer David Stieglitz.
The comfort food used to be one of the Westside's best-kept secrets. "Word of mouth, we grew, grew, grew. No advertising," said Mobley.
On New Year's Day they opened a new location near the Walmart plaza on Atlantic and Kernan, creating 37 new jobs. "So many people are without work. So just to be able to provide incomes for their families is really, really wonderful," she said.
All of the proceeds from the resturant also go to the church's food pantry and clothing drive.
"It's just great home cooking. And there isn't enough of that around," said Stieglitz.
The food, Mobley says, really does feed souls in and out of the kitchen.
This isn't the only business venture for the Potter's House Christian Fellowship. The Westside church also runs a school, credit union, dance studio, and Greyhound bus terminal.
