It all started with Lutunji Abram’s homemade peach cobbler.
Abram brought an entire pie to a meeting with Pastor Jeff Cowmeadow at Calvary Baptist Church in Minneapolis. She planned to talk to him about renting space in the church for the GED portion of the teen charter school that was part of her company, Voices of Effective Change.
Little did Abram know she was about to head in a different direction.
“The pastor told me the school will come to fruition, but you’re selling this cobbler!” Abram recalled.
That was back in April of 2018. Rev. Cowmeadow offered the church’s commercial kitchen for Abram to use and the services of his staff to help her get licensing.
By July of that year, Abram was selling her cobbler at the Whittier Farmer’s Market. Soon she was approached by North Market to sell her cobbler in its Minneapolis grocery store.
That proved to be the open door that allowed Abram to get into wholesale baking. Today you can buy Abram’s gourmet peach or pecan cobbler and a peach vegan option at Lunds & Byerlys in downtown Minneapolis as well as Hy-Vee and Cub Foods locations in the Twin Cities.
Abram credits Rev. Cowmeadow and the support she received for jumpstarting her business.
“When we are working together in harmony, purpose is often discovered,” she said.
In May of 2022, Abram moved beyond wholesale to retail, opening Lutunji’s Palate Bakery & Café at 1400 Park Avenue South in Minneapolis.
The menu offers everything from breakfast egg sandwiches, a roast beef omelet and waffles to burgers, salads and lots of vegan options.
Then there’s the dessert menu! Of course, Abram’s peach cobbler is the star of the show, but the list of sweet treats also includes old-school macaroons, a red velvet brownie and “buttery buttery” specialty cakes and breads.
Abram wants her business to serve as a prime example of the power of passing on kindness.
Just as Abram was encouraged and supported, she, too provides opportunities by empowering others with a paycheck and a place to, as she calls it, “life skill” together. Abram says impact and opportunity are literally and figuratively baked into her business model with Voices of Effective Change as the “mother company.”
Voices of Effective Change provides direct support for teen moms and dads in the form of transportation, education, employment and connections. Having been a teen mom herself, Abram understands the challenges.
“I have the gift of breakthrough. I know I can help them get to the next level, despite the challenges of parenthood,” she said.
Lutunji’s Palate also partners with local organizations Emerge and Twin Cities Rise to connect with and provide jobs for local people facing poverty and men returning from incarceration. She helps them master culinary and customer service skills and simply dream.
“When I work with these people, I’m able to hear more about their passion and purpose and figure out how to get them there,” said Abram. “I was blessed with parents who were very involved. I also had the guidance of leaders in my community in North Minneapolis who said, ‘What are you so good at, you would do it for free?’”
The public is invited to celebrate the sweetness that Abram’s desserts and business have provided the Twin Cities. Join her for a 6th Anniversary Back-to-School event on September 15th, from Noon to 5 pm in front of Lutunji’s Palate in Minneapolis.
The community is invited to enjoy free food, an education panel, resource tables, and performances. Attendees are also asked to help schoolchildren in need by dropping off classroom supplies like notebooks, folders, pens, markers, crayons, etc.