The MAGGIE & EASE STORY

How J. Daniel Created Maggie & Ease.

OUR STORY

I had no idea that a bowl of banana pudding would change my life, but that’s exactly what happened on March 4th, 2016. Crystal-Danielle and I were on one of our first dates at a local bakery where she ordered a decent banana pudding. I assured her that my banana pudding was the best she would ever taste, and if she tried it, she would want to marry me. She thought I was out of my mind.

To put my fate to the test, I invited her as my guest to a potluck. The host, my good friend Dee, requested my signature banana pudding. It was a recipe I had developed over the years and often brought to gatherings.

During the potluck, some friends who had never tasted the pudding recorded themselves trying it for the first time. Their reaction was priceless. After one bite, they started joyfully screaming, “Oh My God, what is this? This is crazy good!”

All agreed that it was the best banana pudding any of them had ever tasted, including Crystal-Danielle. Later that evening, their reaction video was posted online and started to gain a lot of traction. People who watched the video wanted to know if the pudding was actually as good as it seemed. I chimed in on the conversation and guaranteed that it was not only as good as the video claimed, but even better. I also mentioned that if anyone was interested, I offered delivery. The funny thing is that before this, I had never delivered food in my life.

The next morning, I woke up with order requests from all 5 boroughs of New York City, as well as from New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, and California. My mind was blown. I immediately dashed over to my local grocery store, emptied my fridge, and filled it with the ingredients to prepare the puddings. That day I started delivering across NYC. Unfortunately, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, and California were out of reach. I knew I would call my company Maggie & Ease, after my parents, Margaret and John Wiggins affectionately known as Maggie & Ease. In the late 80’s and early 90’s, their restaurant, Southern Comfort, was a second home for my siblings and me.

In the second week, I had multiple orders, and Crystal-Danielle set me up with an online ordering system to keep track.

In just a few months, I was assembling hundreds of jars by myself from my parents kitchen in Queens and delivering them across New York City. I was able to transform that bowl of banana pudding into a lucrative business selling what I call Cold Cream Crumbles in a variety of tantalizing flavors. My deliveries turned into catering jobs with high-profile clients such as Apple Inc., Lululemon, Barclays Center, and the Dia Art Foundation. I also started doing pop-up shops where I sold out every time.

A huge thank you to Miz Hattie Hess and Mr. Eric Hess, a husband and wife duo who are local heroes in Beacon and the owners of Miz Hattie's Southern BBQ. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to train under them, learning the art of authentic southern-style barbecue. They welcomed my family and me, treating us like their own. Their guidance and mentorship have been invaluable, and they have become dear friends. Their support has been a crucial part of this transition, helping to make this next chapter of my journey possible.

Now, Maggie & Ease has transitioned from selling desserts exclusively to a full-on restaurant offering dishes inspired by the soul food that my parents, Maggie & Ease, served in our family's restaurant. When you taste our recipes, you're biting into generations of flavor and deliciousness. All our delicious desserts, food and beverages can be experienced at our 288 Main St. location in the Hudson Valley Food Hall in Beacon, NY. It's amazing how a simple dish like banana pudding could spark such a movement. I am a firm believer that good quality food paired with excellent customer service can help bring people together creating memories that last. Oh yeah, Crystal-Danielle and I did in fact get married, and we now have three children!