Jesse’s Kitchen on the Howard Estate in Bury St Edmunds sees costumers flock on successful opening day

The owner of a recently opened Afro-Caribbean grocery shop in Bury St Edmunds has expressed her pride at the successful launch of her business over the weekend which saw people flock from across Suffolk.

Sophia Jacobs, 60, launched Jesse’s Kitchen, based in the St Olaves Precinct on the Howard Estate, on Sunday with a buffet for the whole community.

Just under 100 people came to support on the opening day and customers were even queuing an hour before the launch.

Sophia said: “I was really surprised – people really came far and wide. People came from Sudbury, Ipswich and Cambridge. I was quite chuffed actually.

“It went really well.”

Food on offer included jollof rice, rice and peas, chicken curry, goat curry and spinach stew.

Sophia received a lot of positive feedback at the launch.

“People from the Afro-Caribbean community are saying ‘thank god – we will stop going to Peterborough or London’. They can actually get everything here that they would get from London. I’ve chosen the items so carefully,” she added.

Sophia runs the business with her son Robert who was busy helping out even before the launch.

Lorraine Jarvis, of Bury St Edmunds, said: “In the town, we’re lacking something like this. Combining it with African and Caribbean is great.”

From today, people can pick up dishes in the chiller like jollof rice and chicken, white rice and jerk chicken, and rice and peas.

Then Sophia will cook takeaway dishes from September 29 which will continue every Friday.