MEMPHIS, Tenn. – For most people a donut is a treat they’ll grab without any thought; for some people in the Mid-South they’re now driving hours to Jacques-Louis Bakery to have a treat they’ve gone years without.
Owner Savannah Kenney, a Memphis native said food is a big part of the culture, so it was tough transitioning her diet when she got diagnosed with celiac disease in 2018.
“In the South, everybody gathers, and you’re typically like, ‘Is there going to be food?'” Somebody bringing food. Where are we going? And when you have to eat a very, very strict gluten-free diet, you feel ostracized a lot of times,” Kenney said.
After her diagnosis, her options became severely limited.
This inspired her to set out to fill a void in the Mid-South by opening a gluten-free bakery.
Dr. Paul Bierman, a gastroenterologist at Baptist said patients can be treated for celiac or just have a gluten intolerance.
“What happens is people that are sensitive to that have this autoimmune condition and are allergic to gluten, which is like wheat and barley. And what happens is those proteins cause an autoimmune reaction, which damages the small intestine,” Dr. Bierman said.
For people like Caroline Short, it’s life-changing to find a bakery she knows is safe.
“It’s so amazing. It’s a place that I can go feel comfortable eating. At any point, I can get a menu and I can order absolutely anything off of that menu and know that the food that I’m going to be getting is going to be safe for me to eat. So it just opens up a lot of options,” Short said.
Kenney has operated a few other locations previously, but recently she and her husband opened a new location in the Cooper-Young neighborhood.
“The city has really embraced us because there is such a need for it. And then also in the surrounding area, there’s about a 150-mile radius where there are no other gluten-free bakeries,” Kenney said.
“Jacques Louise, it’s not an issue because it’s completely gluten-free, which is just a huge peace of mind. A huge weight lifted off my shoulders,” Short said.
Even if you haven’t been diagnosed with celiac but experience some symptoms, Dr. Bierman recommends you get tested.
This can all be confirmed through a simple blood test.
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