As Lucy J’s Bakery prepares to celebrate seven years in business, the business continues to be driven by not just a love for food, but by a mission to provide jobs and livable wages for people transitioning out of homelessness.
Located at Suite 151 at Crosstown Concourse, Lucy J’s was founded on a belief to “bake with a purpose.” The bakery partners with the Dorothy Day House to offer job training, employment, and livable wages to employees.
“As we celebrate seven years, we’re reminded how every loaf and every dollar helps transform lives,” Josh Burgess, founder of Lucy J’s, said.
According to Tracy Burgess, executive director of Dorothy Day House and Josh’s wife, her husband has always wanted to own a restaurant. When the couple decided to launch Lucy J’s, they knew they wanted to be intentional regarding wages and employment practices.
“It’s not worth putting the sweat equity into a business if you’re not able to take care of the people that actually make it possible,” Tracy said.
Josh said their mission is to employ as many people as possible — especially parents from the Dorothy Day House. The organization provides temporary housing for families in Memphis, who in turn may need additional employment.
Not only is Lucy J’s able to provide extra support for families at the Dorothy Day House, but they’re also able to provide soft skill training and professional development.
“We found that a lot of the parents and people need soft skills like how to talk to managers and not at your manager, the importance of being part of a team,” Josh said.
The community is composed of high school students from Crosstown High and parents from the Dorothy Day House. Josh said this allows the parents to see support from the Crosstown community, which can help them move towards stability.
Josh also said this partnership reduces stigma around people experiencing homelessness.
The couple said their intentionality stemmed from volunteering at the Dorothy Day House in 2012, and interacting with the population there.
“Interacting with families that were in extremely tough situations expands your empathy and compassion for people,” Tracy said.
Through volunteering, Josh and Tracy said what they learned was simple — families need better paying jobs. Tracy noted they were proponents of offering $15 an hour for entry-level positions before large corporations began to.
“People just didn’t believe in this idea that entry level employees should earn that amount of money,” Tracy said. “The fight for $15 was prominent, but there was so much against it, and so many people saying it was never possible.”
She admitted that they were fighting an uphill battle on opening, however the couple realized that advocating for people’s wages was bigger than themselves.
Lucy J’s hopes that their mission inspires the city and others to realize the importance of providing opportunity and support for marginalized communities. The couple emphasizes that liveable wages along with affordable housing, education, and accessible transportation are crucial to sustainability in Memphis.
“It’s going to take all those pieces to move our city forward,” Tracy said. “As a community we need to advocate for businesses that are doing this.”
Josh adds that people can support their vision by coming in and enjoying a fresh croissant or cinnamon roll.
“It’s a pretty good cinnamon roll — I would suggest starting there,” Josh said. “Come meet people and become part of the community here. You’ll definitely find someone like yourself that’s for sure.”
