Latest Edition
Family and Love of Cooking
Da’Das Soulful Eatz serving at Miracles Club
Michael Leighton | 3/23/2021, 10:29 a.m.
Jamie Turner and her husband Larry welcome customers to Ja’Das Soulful Eatz, their new family owned and operated restaurant next door to the Miracles Club at 4200 N.E. Martin Luther King Blvd. Ja’Das Soulful Eatz also serves the community from a food cart at 7339 N.E. MLK Jr. Blvd.
A Black family from Portland has expanded their reach by bringing soul food favorites to the restaurant space next door to the non-alcoholic Miracles Club community center at 4200 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr.
Ja’Das Soulful Eatz is a restaurant owned and operated by Jamie Turner, with the help of her husband Larry, children Albert, Alecia and Donte' and other family members.
Jamie said she gained her love of cooking from a childhood spent helping her grandmother, Ella Mae Smith, in the kitchen. She was also inspired to cook by her sister-in-law Lucille Bridgewater.
Originally started as Ja’Das Desserts in 2008, Jamie was known for her gourmet cupcakes and desserts. In 2019, she expanded to a food cart location at 7339 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. which still exists, and opened her latest indoor restaurant at the Miracles Club in November.
She finds encouragement from not only her kids, but other family members and friends, like from church who often come for a visit after Sunday services for good soulful meals and dessert.
Soul food options were once more common and plentiful in northeast Portland, but have become more scarce or limited. Jamie thought expanding her reach would be a good opportunity to bring the community back together and re-establish the traditions of black-owned businesses on MLK.
With love and support from her family and friends she is determined to bring love, community and traditions back to northeast Portland.
“We serve good, quality food, made from scratch and prepared fresh upon order,” she said.
Ja’Das Soulful Eatz also focuses on exceptional customer service and good ol’ fashioned southern hospitality!
“We treat our guests like they’re family and pride ourselves on being neighborly. We extend this kindness to everyone, forming lifelong connections with everyone that enters our restaurant,” she said.
Jamie also wants to start a teaching program for youth who are interested in learning the food service industry in’s and out’s, in addition to be a second chance employer.
Her menu and catering services include such delicacies as cornmeal fried Basa, cornmeal fried catfish, fried shrimp, shrimp & grits, buttermilk chicken strips, fried wings (buffalo, BBQ, lemon pepper & original), Henny Wingz (Hennessey wings), soulful burgers, Po Boy sandwiches, fries, yams, mac n cheese, and collard greens. Specials include deep fried ribs, oxtails, gumbo, peach cobbler and pound cakes. Other desserts include sweet potato pie, banana pudding, and gourmet cupcakes. The drinks offered are sweet tea, kool aid and soda.
The Ja’Das Soulful Eatz Restaurant at the Miracles Club is open Thursdays through Sundays from noon to 7 p.m. Call 971-325-7396 or email jadasoulfuleatz@gmail.com.The restaurant also accepts online orders at www.restaurantji.com/or/portland/a-heavenly-taste-/. The Ja’Das Soulful Food Cart at 7330 N.E. MLK Jr. Blvd. operates Tuesdays through Sunday, also from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m.
