ATLANTA — Brenda Jackson still has her day job: executive assistant. But her night-and-day joy is making that Southern sweetness known as pralines – creamy pecan candies, exactly how her Grandma made them all those years ago in Vicksburg, Mississippi.
“Really, I have been encouraged from so many people, and I decided with all of that, you’ve got to make it happen,” she said about starting her own business, Heavenly Pralines. “And I’ve been told you’re sitting on a gold mine.”
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She secured her business license early this year. She sells her melt-in-your-mouth confections by word of mouth.
“It just makes me feel good because you don’t want to leave saying I didn’t try it, especially at this stage of my life. I said, ‘You know, I’ve got to try it,’” she said.
She and Channel 2’s Bryan Mims joined 13 other entrepreneurs Saturday at a pop-up market along the Atlanta Beltline beneath John Lewis Freedom Parkway.
In observance of Small Business Saturday, the business owners showed off and sold their wares to passersby on the popular trail.
The Atlanta Beltline Marketplace program provides affordable retail and food spaces along the trail so entrepreneurs can have access to the roughly 2.5 million people who use the Beltline yearly.
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“Atlanta is nationally recognized as a place for entrepreneurship, and those entrepreneurs are the heart and soul of our city,” said Kara Live, the Director of Economic Development for the Atlanta Beltline.
To foster affordable space, the Marketplace program provides shipping containers for business owners to use as shops along the trail.
Nova Ifeadi started a business called Wandering Willow Studio two years ago. She creates art pieces using stained glass, polymer clay and 3D printing.
“I love magical things, so the whole point of my business is to add a little whimsy to your life – things like mushroom shelves,” she said. “Honestly, it’s very rewarding because it’s me putting a piece of myself out there and people genuinely appreciating it.”
The program hosts pop-up markets on the second Saturday of each month.
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