JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In honor of Black History Month News4Jax is sharing a piece of Black history every day. Some will be local places and people that you might have never heard of before.
As a general rule, nothing sparks nostalgia that takes us back to our roots like food. That’s especially true for the owners of Mr. Potato Spread, a Black-owned restaurant in Regency Square Mall.
“Our families would say you can taste the passion and the food,” co-owner Lakita Spann said.
Their best-selling item is the “Crab Pot,” a recipe that had been passed down for generations. The secret to the recipe is in what they learned from their grandmothers.
“Our grandmothers thought about the season in the food and they marinated the food yet they took the liberty to be as creative as they wanted to be. Those same seasonings and those same traditions are what we carried over what we do every day at Mr. Potato Spread,” Spann said.
Spann also said the city of Jacksonville has been very intentional about making sure Black-owned restaurants are supported so their traditions live on.