In June of 2008, my mother came from Haiti to visit me for what was supposed to be a couple of weeks. During her stay, I noticed something was off; her breathing seemed labored, and she took noticeably longer to climb even a small set of stairs. Trusting my instincts, I took her to the hospital.
That visit changed everything.
My mother was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer and was given six months to live.
From that moment on, I made a conscious and deliberate decision. I attended every doctor’s appointment with her and ensured that my mother was only told she had a chronic cancer that required ongoing treatment. I protected her from one word in particular: terminal. She never heard it. Not once. Even on the exact day when she was hearing the news for the first time.
I believe deeply and without hesitation that shielding her from that word, combined with modern medicine here in Dallas and the care I was determined to provide, altered her outcome. Against the prognosis given to us in June of 2008, my mother lived for more than four years.
Each Sunday, for four years, baking and tasting cheesecakes and other desserts became our ritual. It was our time.
Often, she would finish her dessert before even touching the main course I had prepared for her…dessert always came first. During the week, we would plan and talk about what cake we would try that coming Sunday, debating flavors, textures, and ideas with excitement and intention.
That ritual carried us through countless recipes and quiet moments of joy, love, and anticipation until her passing in August of 2012.
Four years of time.
Four years of presence.
Four years of love, rituals, and resilience.
Time no prognosis could take away.
After my mother’s passing, I wrote a letter to Matt Spillers, the owner of Oddfellows in Bishop Arts. I brought along several cheesecakes, each one made with intention, memory, and love. After tasting them, he decided to carry our cheesecakes at two of his establishments.
That moment changed everything.
It was then that I made the decision to turn what had always lived in my heart into a real business..selling our cheesecakes to restaurant partners throughout Dallas. For two years, I moonlighted as a baker while working my civil engineering day job, baking late nights in the kitchen of St. Paul United Methodist Church.
Eventually, faith met courage.
I opened my first storefront at 3906 Maple Avenue, our very first home, known simply as The Shack.
From the colors chosen for The Shack to the 4 other locations that followed, from the recipes to the overall vibe, every detail of this journey has been a daily tribute to my mother, Marie Jose Labossière. She was a phenomenal, strong, and brilliant businesswoman…graceful yet unshakeable.
I hope to become at least half of what she was to me: a person of perseverance, guts, and an undeniably sweet disposition.
Today, with our only location on Akard, I have the opportunity to share not just cheesecake, but my personal story, rooted in the resilience my mother instilled in me from the very beginning, while forging a new future for myself and this beloved brand as we continue to evolve with the times.
Thanks Mom!
I love you.
