In a family full of women who can all cook, Superia Ingalls knew that her food stood out. That’s because her family told her so. And if it was good enough for them, she figured it would be good enough for the rest of the world.
“I come from a family of women, and everyone cooks. So, you better be good because everybody can cook. They tasted my food first, and that’s what made me want to open the restaurant. Everyone gave me the OK like, ‘Yeah, you got that,’” Ingalls told What Now Philadelphia. “My family are real critics when it comes to our food. If they don’t think it’s the real deal, they would just be like, ‘Don’t even play yourself.'”
Ingalls learned she couldn’t have been more right when her authentic gourmet soul food started selling out on DoorDash and Grubhub from a ghost kitchen in Mount Laurel last summer. Ingalls had been working a corporate job for over a decade and also had her real estate license when she decided to take a leap into the foodservice industry after realizing there weren’t many soul food options in the area. Now she’s getting ready to open her first brick-and-mortar called Sister’s Spot at 6009 Mansion Blvd., in Pennsauken, NJ, formerly inhabited by Bambu milk tea and sandwich shop.
Sister’s Spot is named after Ingalls’ grandmother’s nickname, which is “Sister,” as well as all the sisters in her family’s lineage. The 1,100 sq. ft. take-out and delivery-only spot is outfitted in a sleek and modern black and gold motif and will have a bench and some tabletops where you can sit or stand and check out one of the eatery’s four TVs while waiting for your order.
Sister’s Spot’s focused menu of elevated soul food is crafted from family recipes taught to Ingalls by her grandmother and mother. Sister’s Spot will offer all your Southern comfort food favorites like fried or baked chicken and fish dishes, salmon, baked mac and cheese, collard greens, potato salad, and green beans, as well as sweet potato pie, pineapple upsidedown cake and more. Ingalls is purposely keeping her menu small for now in order to focus on quality and making each dish the best it could possibly be. But that’s how Ingalls does most things, with passion and intention.
“Everything I do, I do it with passion. I do it with love. I don’t care if it’s writing my name down on a piece of paper. I’m going to write it nice. And when you come into Sister’s Spot, you’re going to feel that, you’re going to smell that, you’re going to taste that, you’re going to get that,” said Ingalls. “I come from a family of love. I am love. And when you come in Sister’s Spot, you’re going to feel the love.”
Sister’s Spot will be open Wednesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays. Ingalls may expand to serve breakfast in the future. Once the restaurant reaches a certain amount of success, Ingalls says she hopes to open a second location with her sister in Florida.
Learn more about Sister’s Spot at sistersspot.com.
