April 6, 2017
DENVER Since 1926
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Denver Auto Show celebrates 115th year P6
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DENVER, COLORADO
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Soul-food eatery aims to nurture souls Anointed BBQ in Sheridan serves brisket, catfish, more BY IAN WARREN SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA
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arriese “Mo” Jones opened Anointed BBQ & Soul Food in Sheridan in August 2016 and it has been booming ever since. The recipes are inspired by the deep south and Mo’s grandmother who taught him how to cook starting at age 8. He also credits his grandmother for teaching him the love that is in cooking and what comes of sharing it. He started and runs the nonprofit Hedges & Highway Ministries to help give back to the community. “I was on that side for so long; now that I’m on this I side, I have the opportunity to make a difference in somebody life, and that’s what this is about,” Mo says about helping others with his food. Along with taking nonperishable donations, he takes his food to Urban Peak on the first and second Sunday of every month, and cooks a meal for homeless youth. Mo also hosts a group titled Men’s Struggles. “They come here, they get to eat food … we get to talk about things we’re currently struggling with and things that we have struggled with in the past.” The group creates a space where he can break down the construct of masculinity and allow men to let out what they may not in other company. SEE BBQ P5
Marriese “Mo” Jones thanks attendees for coming to the Spring Break Block Party on March 25. He said, “this is my ministry” and that Anointed BBQ & Soul Food will be hosting similar events weekly as part of their nonprofit Hedges & Highway Ministries. The event featured a table filled with donated toys, and families could take one per child. Attendees ranged from people who were planning on coming to eat at the restaurant to families in the neighborhood who saw it walking by. PHOTOS BY IAN WARREN
Mo pulls apart a sweet potato for a pie mix. Mo knows all his recipes by heart and will never be seen using a measuring cup. If you pass by the kitchen you may hear him singing while he cooks.
Mo greets Cassie Strade-Jones. The two met at Denver Rescue Mission. Mo builds a community around his restaurant through his nonprofit Hedges & Highway Ministries Outreach. The nonprofit makes donations to other organizations and provides food for people who are struggling. On the first and second Sunday of every month, “We take our food down to Urban Peak and we cook and feed about 58 people...we feed the staff and the homeless youth.”
THE BOTTOM LINE PERIODICAL
‘I don’t want to say goodbye to my house. But someday I won’t have a choice, if I can no longer climb the stairs.’ Craig Marshall Smith, columnist | Page 4 INSIDE
NEWS: PAGE 2 | VOICES: PAGE 4 | LIFE: PAGE 6 VOLUME 90 | ISSUE 24