BY MIKE PUCKETT

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Below is from their website…

“Lola Stephens moved here from Lake Charles, La., in 1980, after growing up cooking at the sides of her grandmother and mom. It was supposed to be a brief pit stop on her way to California. Money ran out, so she got a cashier’s job, and she liked Austin so much that she never left. In the late Eighties, times got tough. Stephens lost her job and was homeless for two years. Optimist that she is, she never lost her faith, and fought her way back. She now raises four daughters, ages 11 to 17, three of whom she adopted from a friend in need.
About two years ago, she was passing the corner of Rosewood and Chicon and saw a for-rent sign out of the corner of her eye, on what used to be Nanny’s, a neighborhood soul-food joint. With $500 scraped together from savings, friends, and donations from the congregation of her church, Stephens was able to secure the spot for a month. She cleaned it up and did some painting and decorating, the predominant colors being purple and yellow, “the colors of Mardi Gras and Jacob’s coat,” she says.

PHOTOGRAPHY: MIKE PUCKETT