BIRTHED in prayer, Bless Foods, now expanded into The Bless Table, has grown from a small cookshop in Grants Pen into a small walk-in restaurant, guided by a vision and supported by years of catering and concessionaire experience.

Founder and CEO Keneisha Green says the idea for the restaurant was revealed long before its official opening.

“I often pray every Saturday morning before starting my day. While praying for independence, the Lord said to me he’s going to give me a restaurant,” she shared during the launch of the restaurant.

With no formal culinary training, Green admitted she initially doubted her ability to operate a food business. Teenage pregnancy also added to her early challenges. Still, she acted on the instruction to seek a location. After 21 days of fasting, she believed she received direction toward a plot of land in Grants Pen, a return to her childhood community. Despite uncertainty, she followed through, opened a small cookshop during COVID, and sketched out her restaurant design long before having the funds.

“In those times, I had no money, hand to mouth, literally. I don’t know if I can get a loan. But when God says something, that settles everything,” she said.

Against the odds, she secured a loan to build the structure, but once that money was depleted, she needed additional funding for furniture and equipment. She described praying over the items in a furniture store and being miraculously granted the funds needed to purchase them in cash. Within that same year, Bless Foods received its first major opportunity: a small coffee-break service for St Joseph’s Teachers’ College, which grew into the company’s first concessionaire contract providing daily meals on campus. In 2021, while still working a nine-to-five in sales, Green said she was led to pitch catering services to a manager at a major business process outsourcing (BPO). The proposal resulted in Bless Foods securing its second concessionaire contract.

“When God says it, you have to be quick with it, don’t procrastinate and delay and hesitate, move!” Green encouraged.

The company soon expanded into weddings, parties, corporate functions, banks, and additional BPOs. Five years after starting the cookshop, the business evolved into The Bless Table, the fulfilment of the restaurant vision she said she received years before. The new walk-in location at 76RHR Business Centre along Red Hills Road matched exactly what she had envisioned.

“Same as how you see this place, that’s how I saw it in the vision,” Green told the audience.

The Bless Table offers a diverse menu curated long before the restaurant opened, which she credits to her husband for helping to craft the menu from their Sunday dishes: rum fire shrimp, lemon salmon, and cherry barbecue pork chops, all written down with plans to include them once she secured a walk-in location. A standout item is the Blessed Bowl.

“We have something called the Blessed Bowl, which is authentic potato, chicken, cheese, sweet corn…and that stands out because we use authentic potato, not the packaged potato. And that is one of our hit-sellers,” Green told the Jamaica Observer in an interview.

Though she believed the business was confirmed by a higher calling, Green admits she struggled with self-confidence for many years. She explained that growing up in certain environments limited her exposure and shaped how she viewed herself. Her upbringing left her preferring to stay in the background, feeling sheltered and unsure of how to step forward. Confidence and boldness, she said, were always challenges she had to overcome. Looking ahead, Green envisions Bless Foods offering exquisite styles of cooking and food presentation that can take the brand beyond Jamaica. Her goal is for the company to cater internationally with her team. The business currently serves mainly corporate clients, providing meals for events of up to 5,000 people. Whether customers engage with The Bless Table or Bless Foods, they can choose from a wide range of options or request customised menus, from finger foods to full lunch offerings such as curry goat, jerk chicken, and oxtail.

“We are very versatile; if you want it, we can get it done,” said Green.

Founder and CEO Keneisha Green of Bless Foods excitedly opened the doors to her new restaurant, The Bless Table, at 76 RHR Business Centre, Red Hills Road, Shop #6. (Photo: Naphtali Junior)

From left: The Bless Table staff: Angelica Marsh, Samuel Brissett, Shelly Lynch, Kadeen Francis, CEO Kenesha Green, Doren Airborne, Rieanna Spence, Shawn Beckford, Yohan Rowe and Sueanna Leslie (Photo: Naphtali Junior)

Bright, zesty, and packed with flavour, The Bless Table’s signature lemon salmon.