FOOD FOR THOUGHT
EDITH KANE DISPLAYS A BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPH OF HER DAUGHTERS WHEN THE NOW ADULT CHILDREN WERE YOUNG GIRLS .
Black entrepreneur , restaurant owner Edith Kane shares her story .
STORY / DANIEL SUDDEATH PHOTOS / BILL HANSON
Edith Kane is still cooking .
For decades , Edith served her famous Jesse Burgers , named after her late husband , to hungry customers at the couple ’ s restaurant .
These days the 96-year-old New Albany native mainly uses her talents in the kitchen in support of her church , Galatian Baptist . She loves to bake pound cakes , cobblers and pies for the congregation ’ s members .
“ They love me . I ’ m the oldest member at the church . We ’ re just like a family ,” Edith said .
Many people consider Edith family . Her success in the local restaurant business is well known to those who grew up in the area between the 1960s and early 1990s . For three decades , Edith and her husband , Jesse , owned and operated Jesse ’ s Bar and Grill off Vincennes Street .
While Southern Indiana is blessed with many familyowned businesses , Jesse ’ s Bar and Grill is an entirely different type of success story . Two Black entrepreneurs prevailed through racist policies , opening a restaurant at a time when they couldn ’ t even get a threeway liquor license without a white person signing off on their request .
16 2022 Diversity Magazine