Monday Meditations with Wine – Jess Davenport 5/9/22

Written on May 5, 2022.

Monday Meditations with Wine is a weekly live interview session on BRAVO!’s Facebook page highlighting hospitality, culinary, and beverage industry professionals from the American South. This weekly series is meant to shine a light on the enthusiastic, passionate, professionals in the south blazing trails in their respective fields. We are telling the stories of the south’s brightest in the hospitality industry.

In honor of Mother’s Day, each Monday in May each guest will have one thing in common – Motherhood. Chuck will focus on how they are able to balance their jobs, families, and life in general. This week he will have Jessica Davenport owner of Sugar Ray’s Sweet Shop.

Jess is a foodie, hospitality expert, customer service enthusiast, and mental health advocate.
Growing up in Jackson, MS, she has spent her entire work career in the food, beverage, and
hospitality industry.

Jess is the proud owner and creator of Sugar Ray’s Sweet Shop, a candy and confection store that believes in creating sweet experiences. One of these experiences was to assist in revitalizing downtown Jackson by developing a nostalgia candy store in 2016.

After failed partnerships and hard times, Jess decided to close down the store and focus on building her skills. She has received her Bachelor in Business Administration in Accounting from Jackson State University and her Masters of Science in Leadership from Belhaven University also in Jackson, MS. She is a graduate of Leadership Greater Jackson and a new member of the Mississippi Black Leadership Institute. Participating on several boards in the city and community, Jess has made it her mission to create opportunities for everyone, regardless of race, status, or gender, to access good food.

In March 2020, during quarantine, Jess decided to rebuild, refocus and restructure Sugar Ray’s into an e-commerce and pop-up brand. In doing so, Jess launched a cinnamon roll line that has been named the “best in town.” These rolls are hand-crafted deliciousness. All of the rolls and toppings are hand-made in-house with premium crafted extracts, spices, and toppings to bring the best cinnamon roll swirls to you wherever you are because Sugar Ray’s now ships throughout the U.S. When Jess is not in the kitchen, she is an Account Manager at The Tell Agency. Which is a full-service public relations firm specializing in social media management, content creation, copywriting & editing, feature writing, and event planning – among other things. There she assists with helping brand tell their stories. You can follow Jess Davenport and Sugar Ray’s Sweet Shop at @shop_sugarrays.

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