After school can be a treat
at the Gourmet Cookie Café

After being dropped off by the school bus at the corner of Grand Avenue and Southwest 37th Street, eighth-grader Jerod Mays heads across the street to the Gourmet Cookie Café for a sweet treat from “Ms. Carrie,” also known as “The Cookie Lady”

“She’s got everything,” said Jerod, who typically orders a cookie and a slushy after school and a breakfast sandwich and orange juice combo in the morning. “It’s a nice place to hang out after school,” added Jerod, a student at Ponce de Leon Middle School.

On school days, scores of children pack the shop to mingle while munching on one of Carrie Jackson’s popular 5-inch chocolate chip and sprinkled cookies.

“I wanted it to be like Starbucks for kids,” said Jackson, who opened the shop three years ago to provide a place where children could spend their time safely after school. “I looked around and I didn’t see anything positive for the kids,” she said.

Over the years, Jackson has kept her prices low for students, who pay 50 cents for most of the cookies.

Although she sells cupcakes, cakes, brownies and vegan desserts, Jackson specializes in cookies, including the “Coconut Grove Delight,” a whole wheat cookie with a blend of coconut shavings, white chocolate, dark chocolate, cranberry and oats.

She has also set up a Wi-Fi connection in the store and is determined to replace recently stolen computers so kids can once again do homework.

Determination is what turned a fundraiser for inner-city kids into a full-time business. Jackson first started baking in 1982 to help the students raise money for their football teams and trips to Disney.

“My motivation came from the kids. I would tell them, ‘Get me a bag of flour and I’ll do the rest, ’” said Jackson, who sold insurance, was a school bus driver and a corrections officer before becoming “The Cookie Lady”.

As the children walked the streets of the West Grove selling Jackson’s cookies, she gained a reputation and was soon known as “The Original Cookie Lady”.

Since that time, Jackson has expanded her products to include handmade chocolates and gift baskets and has made her treats available at a number of businesses and restaurants including Chicks n’ Wings and The Last Carrot on Grand Avenue.

When it came time to set up shop, she said she decided on the West Grove because it was a familiar area to her.

Jackson, who lives near Cutler Bay, said she used to spend summers visiting her godmother, Thelma Rozier, who lived on Day Avenue, and her aunt, Ida Cunningham, on Oak Avenue. They both helped her bake when she started the business.

Today, Jackson relies on the hands of a few family members, including a daughter and a friend who pitches in when orders are high.

Jackson said she thinks that her store has given the neighborhood a special twist and the kids a space of their own.

“It’s like this side of the town is asleep. People don’t come here anymore,” she said. “If historical Coconut Grove fizzles out, we’ll lose it forever.”

Even as she expands her services to cater to businesses and customers looking for specialty baked goods, Jackson says she’s always mindful of the kids.

“People used to ask me why I did all this for the kids,” she said, gesturing to the wrought iron tables and chairs, baby blue paint, and shelves stocked full of sweet treats. “But I think kids can appreciate nice things when they’re introduced to them.

On the first Friday of the month, she offers an open mic session for students of all ages.

Jackson says she hopes to increase the frequency of the Friday night events, which allow students to express themselves through poetry readings, raps, dances and painting demonstrations.

Jackson said her main reason for keeping her doors open is to give children a sense of home.

“I just keep hoping and praying that one day it will all come together in the Grove and things will change for the next generation.”

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