“Being a single mom all those years … it was tough… but we made it.”
New Sarpy resident Jennifer Coe is emotional when she talks about her journey of motherhood and entrepreneurship. She is the owner of Coe’s Custom Catering, and her new store location touting the name Coe’s to Geaux recently opened at 14454 River Road in New Sarpy.
The shop, located between the Seafood Pot and the St. Rose Tavern, is a dream come true.
Years ago, Coe found herself a single mother of three with the goal of being able to support her children financially while also having the flexibility to not miss out on their school and extra-curricular moments and celebrations. In 2016 she was preparing meals out of her home and selling them to the community. She then decided to convert her garage into a commercial kitchen, which allowed her to cook at home but make personal deliveries to homes and businesses.
“Right before Ida I decided to open a shop,” she said. “In May of 2021 I opened a shop in Boutte. But I lost my dad right before the storm and I decided to walk away from the store altogether in July 2022. It was damaged in the storm.”
Coe began to concentrate on her catering once again, but she said the perfect opportunity came up recently to convert an old salon near her home into a new hub to serve customers on site.
“I won’t be preparing the food here,” she said of her new location. “But I sat back and waited, and this opportunity became available. It’s pretty surreal knowing where we came from … from making 12 plates of red beans and rice and selling them in a parking lot.”
Coe’s to Geaux opened in early March – one day before her seven-year business anniversary. She said the past seven years have seen her go from unemployed to an entrepreneur.
“I just did what I did best,” she said of her journey. “I just cooked. That first day when I cooked those twelve plates … I made $120 that day. It was exciting. Then that twelve grew to twenty four and then one hundred. Now we can do up to three hundred in the commercial kitchen. It’s pretty insane.”
Coe begins to cry when she talks about how her son decided to go to culinary school after watching her grow her business and the community who has supported her every step of the way.
“It’s so emotional for me because I’ve worked so hard and I was still able to raise my kids,” she said. “They’re good kids and they’ve given me beautiful grandbabies. I appreciate every single person whose ever purchased something for me or came out and supported me. The gratitude that I feel … that I’ve gotten to meet all these people and they’ve played a part in my success … it’s an honor to serve them. It’s an honor that they entrust me to cook for them.”
Coe’s Custom Catering is open from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday – Friday.
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