Mitts 2 Pits brings soul food to downtown Battle Creek

Family-owned caterer and eatery relocates to the heart of the city

By Nick J. Buckley / Downtown Battle Creek Zine

For Benjamin and Denise Young, the move to Michigan Avenue has been years in the making.

What began as a shared dream and a home-based food business has grown into Mitts 2 Pits, the family-owned catering business and eatery now serving customers in the heart of downtown Battle Creek after relocating from Calhoun Street.

The business adds soul food to downtown’s dining scene. While Mitts 2 Pits offers a variety of menu items throughout the week, it has become known for its Soul Food Sundays, featuring dishes such as catfish, collard greens and candied sweet potatoes alongside specialties such as Denise’s peach cobbler lemonade.

“You need people to support you to even be successful,” Benjamin said. “Nobody’s successful by themselves.”

The married couple and parents of three started Mitts 2 Pits as a cottage food business operating from their home before spending two years working from Sprout BC’s incubator kitchen in Springfield. There, they built a customer base, refined their business plan and gained confidence that their dream could become a brick-and-mortar business.

Along the way, they worked with organizations including Sprout BC, BC Food Reimagined, the City of Battle Creek’s Small Business Development Office and Northern Initiatives.

The Youngs also received mentorship from Peecoon and Lance Allen, owners of Umami Ramen. Mitts 2 Pits’ first storefront occupied the former Umami location on Calhoun Street before the opportunity arose to relocate into Umami’s former Michigan Avenue space.

Denise described the transition as a passing of the torch.

“It takes a village,” she said.

The opportunity came sooner than expected.

Benjamin said the couple had recently completed a three-year plan for their Calhoun Street location when the Michigan Avenue opportunity emerged. Expanding into a larger space meant higher costs and new challenges, but the couple decided to move forward.

“You’ve got to take a leap of faith,” Benjamin said.

Today, Mitts 2 Pits serves customers through catering, lunch service and special events. The new location includes space for private gatherings, outdoor seating and access to Reflection Park, a small downtown green space where Denise has planted flowers and vegetables.

The couple say their strengths complement one another as partners in business and in life. Benjamin oversees much of the cooking and menu development, drawing on years of culinary experience that began in local church kitchens and continued through culinary training at what is now the Calhoun Area Career Center.

Denise handles marketing, customer relationships and community outreach while also working as a doula with Milk Like Mine, supporting mothers and families during pregnancy, childbirth and the early months of parenthood. She also manages much of the business’s social media presence, regularly posting menu updates, hours and behind-the-scenes videos on Facebook, where many customers follow the latest offerings from Mitts 2 Pits.

As they settle into their new home downtown, the Youngs hope to build on the support they have received from customers, mentors and community partners along the way.

“We want to be able to give back to this side of town,” Denise said.

This article originally appeared in Downtown Battle Creek Zine and is republished with permission.