Wesson bakery to open this month

By Bob Arnold

Nekitha Jackson, a long-time local cottage baker, is looking to open a permanent a retail location to cook and sell her cakes, cookies and other treats in downtown sometime this month.

 If there was ever a bakery in Wesson, it was so long ago that locals can’t remember it.

Destiny Delights, which Jackson calls her business, is moving into the new 6,700 square foot mini shopping and office complex that Salmon Point Development has built on the southwest corner of Church Street and Highway 51.  Jackson will rent the smaller 1,000 square foot structure on the property, which will have a total of three commercial spaces

Jackson says she bakes with love as her secret ingredient.  Since 2014, she has done the bulk of her baking at her Wesson home on Lott Smith Road and sold her products and baked some of them on site at farmers and other outdoor markets throughout southwest Mississippi. 

Now she’ll go to work in her own bakery, where three or four workers will also help her serve customers.  It’s a status that has been a dream since her childhood -- being known as a baker in her community beyond her home base.  The pink and brown colors that she has made a trademark of her business as a tribute to her sister, who died in a car crash, will also be part the new status.

As she prepared for her move to the retail location, Jackson reflected on the strength she has received from God, family and friends:

“I’m thankful for God’s blessing and guidance.  My husband, Clifford Jackson, Sr., has been and unrelenting force, pouring his heart and soul into making this dream a reality.  His unwavering commitment, alongside Walter Jackson’s loyal support and Vernie Washington’s valuable insights, has been nothing short of remarkable.  To everyone who’s contributed to this process, I express my deepest gratitude – your impact won’t be forgotten.  Here’s to the bright future of Destiny’s Delights Coffee Shop and Bakery.”

Ron Bath, a former Reno, Nevada, commercial and residential developer who retired to Wesson and transplanted Salmon Point Development here, continues to seek tenants for the 2,100 square foot and 3,600 square foot units in the new Highway 51 complex.  Bath found Jackson, who has long been active in community service, on the Wesson Chamber of Commerce board.  For many years, Jackson also served as president of the Wesson Attendance Center Parent Teachers Organization.