Jackson Free Press

The District at Eastover recently announced that Cantina Laredo will close on Monday, Feb. 25, and that a new, locally owned restaurant will take its place later this year. MH Ventures of Jackson, formerly known as Miller Hospitality, will manage the new restaurant. Owner Ray Scott Miller operates Fine & Dandy in Jackson and several Newk's Eatery locations in Mississippi. Jesse Houston, executive chef at Fine & Dandy, will serve as culinary director for the new restaurant.

"Miller Hospitality became MH Ventures in August last year because we're working on a stronger focus on Jackson, local restaurants and our neighbors here," Miller told the Jackson Free Press. "We want to spend time on ensuring we set a standard for doing business in Jackson.

"This new restaurant will be right across from Fine & Dandy at The District, and the District Green space between them was highly appealing to us as a place to hold events and let kids play. Having these two restaurants facing each other across the Green will allow them to work together and help make The District a special place in the Jackson community."

Startup Weekend Jackson

Startup Weekend Jackson, a collaboration between Innovate Mississippi and Techstars Startup Weekend to create and promote local businesses, will take place from Friday, March 1, to Sunday, March 3, at Coalesce JXN (109 N. State St.).

Techstars Startup Weekend, which launched in 2007, brings together designers, developers, marketers and more from across the state to learn how to build a company over the course of a weekend. Participants form teams and select the most promising ideas to progress a startup business over the course of three days. Business leaders and mentors also attend the event to share their insights and experience.

Early registration is $35 and closes Feb. 20. Students can receive an additional 50 percent off using the code "Student" while registering. For more information or to register, visit http://communities.techstars.com/usa/jackson/startup-weekend/14037 or techstars.com/startup-weekend/.

Local Business Highlight: Heavenly Sweetz Bakery

Brandon native Regina Wallace opened Heavenly Sweetz Bakery inside The Hatch in midtown (126 Keener Ave.) in October 2018. The bakery offers cupcakes, tiered cakes, pies, cookies, sheet cakes and standard cakes in flavors such as caramel, Italian cream, lemon, strawberry and carrot.

Wallace took up baking as a hobby in 1998 after being laid off from her previous job as a factory worker. Her mother, Jeanette McKennis, convinced her to begin selling cakes on the Facebook cottage-food marketplace in 2015. Cottage food refers to foods made and sold in small batches out of the home. Wallace primarily sold cakes for Thanksgiving and Christmas until 2018, when she opened a commercial kitchen for Heavenly Sweetz at The Hatch, and created a website and Facebook page for orders.

One of Wallace's signature items is a double chocolate cake, which is both filled and topped with chocolate buttercream, and decorated with white and milk chocolate rosettes. She also offers banana pudding cupcakes, which are vanilla cupcakes filled with banana pudding, and topped with crushed Nilla wafers and a whipped topping. Heavenly Sweetz also has a signature lemon elderberry cake, or lemon cake soaked in elderberry syrup, topped with white buttercream, and garnished with live flowers and fresh fruit.

Wallace is also partnering with Coffee Prose in Midtown to create cakes, cupcakes, cookies, Danishes and other baked goods for the business. She also bakes cinnamon rolls, sticky buns and cupcakes for Twisted Pretzel at the Jackson Medical Mall.

"Baking had once been in the background for me, and I hadn't thought I would make a living doing it, but recently it grew and became an all-consuming passion," Wallace told the Jackson Free Press. "Karyn Thornhill of Lifehouse Mississippi encouraged me to turn this into a real business, and afterward I felt like the Lord stared opening doors for me."

Heavenly Sweetz is open Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. For more information or to place orders, call 601-291-1179, visit heavenlysweetz.com or find the business on Facebook.