By Chanda Temple
In July 2023, Justin Jones received the call no one really wants to get: Your job has ended.
Saddened over losing his good-paying job in the steel industry, Justin nervously broke the news to his wife. But Charity Jones saw the loss as more of a gain.
“I said, ‘Well, congratulations! You always wanted to work for yourself, and this is your opportunity,’ ” Charity recalled.
Stunned by Charity’s response at first, Justin knew she had a point. So, he followed his heart and started making the sweet potato pies that so many of their relatives had already come to love. Meanwhile, Charity started scheduling Justin to sell pies at as many farmers markets and events as possible. By August 2023, Sweet Daddy’s Sweet Potato Pies was selling out every weekend.
“Immediately, I felt in my soul that that was the best thing for my husband,” Charity said of Justin making pies full time. “I believed in him. I believed in our product.”
The two are co-owners of Sweet Daddy’s Sweet Potato Pies, which are made in a commissary kitchen in Hoover, AL and sold across metro-Birmingham. Their menu includes sweet potato pie, apple pie, peach cobbler, pecan pie and a gluten-free sweet potato pie.
They also sell mini pies, which is their top seller. They recently delivered 400 mini pies to an organization looking to distribute them for the holidays.
“Just to see this grow, it lets me know that my belief in what we are doing is right. I can only imagine next year,” Charity said.
While Justin works full time with Sweet Daddy’s Sweet Potato Pies, Charity works full time as a second grade teacher. But outside the classroom, Charity and Justin, both 38 and Birmingham natives, can be found in the commissary kitchen, building a business and a bond as sweet as their desserts.
“He will make the fillings, but I’m pouring them up,” she said. “I hand make the gluten-free crust. I help with the packaging.”
“I support my husband. I want him to be successful and not be too stressed,” she said.
Charity said her favorite part in going to the commissary is that it’s just the two of them, making pies, talking and listening to good music.
She plays Maxwell. He plays Al Green. And, together, they make pies as soulful as their soundtracks.
When the pies are done, Justin talks to them. And that’s what makes them so good, he contends.
“I put a whole lot of love in mine,” he said. “When I’m making them, I actually speak affirmations over my pies. So, when you eat it, you’ll feel all the joy, love, peace and happiness.”
“It’s everything you need to go throughout your day.”
In 2015, Charity got her first clue of just how good Justin was at making sweet potato pies when they competed against each other as part of their housewarming celebration in Birmingham.
Charity used her grandmother’s recipe, and she just knew she was going to win. But Justin used his mother’s recipe with his own spin on it. When it came down to relatives selecting a winner, Justin’s pie won, 9 to 1.
“When I tasted his pie, it was smooth. It was different,” Charity said. “It was so good.
“I have a six-year-old, and he said, ‘Mama, that’s the best food in the world,’ ”
After the couple’s contest, Justin would take orders during the holidays. And once Justin started making pies full time in the fall of 2023, the couple started to book areas beyond their comfort zone, going to new markets and venues.
They had no fear.
“The more we put into it, it just grew,” Charity said. “Even now, we’ll add more to what we are doing. We’ve started to double up on our locations. Sometimes, you’ll see me say (on Instagram) we’ll be at Pepper Place and Cahaba Brewing at the same time.”
For 2025, they are dreaming bigger as they look to secure corporate contracts and a food trailer.
“Invest in yourself. You are only going to get out what you put into anything,” Charity said. “So, if you are nervous. It’s never going to grow.”
Savor This!: Sweet Daddy’s Sweet Potato Pies is taking holiday orders this week. Orders are due by Sunday, Dec. 22 at 11:59 p.m. Customer pick up will be at Pepper Place at the Red Cat coffee house on Monday, Dec. 23 at 12 p.m. Orders can be made online at https://sweetdaddyssweetpotatopies.com or via phone at 1-659-253-7208.
9-inch sweet potato pie – $25
9-inch pecan pie made with light Karo syrup- $35
Loaf pan peach cobbler – $30
9-inch apple pie – $35
“Justin is serious about those pies,” Charity said. “He cares about his product: what it looks like and what it tastes like.”
Chanda Temple is an award-winning writer living in Birmingham, Ala. She blogs at http://www.chandatemplewrites.com. If you have a food story idea, email her at chandatemple@gmail.com. Follow her on Instagram at @chandatemple.
Copyright © 2024, All rights reserved.