By Chanda Temple
Chelsea and Isaiah Parker rose from their bed on a recent Saturday at 6 a.m. to prepare for a 90-minute drive from Jacksonville to Birmingham to get food they cannot find in their part of the state.
A Mediterranean vibe sandwich that features roasted sweet potato, little punches of garlic, cardamon golden pickled onions and zing from a preserved lemon kale salad on homemade bread. Date bars. And apple galettes that look like open-faced pies bursting with fresh flavors of roasted Lady Alice Apple, dates, sun butter frangipane on a sourdough olive oil crust.
“I love everything she makes,” Chelsea said. “It’s so fresh and healthy.”
Such dishes are made by Sara Cole, who hosts a monthly pop-up in Birmingham that showcases food influenced by her Egyptian and Southern roots. Her plant-based creations are made through her Abadir’s food service out of Greensboro that also does catering. Kicked off in February 2026, people visit her website to make advance orders and pick up at Punch Love Coffee, 4000 Third Ave. South, in Birmingham’s Avondale neighborhood.
Each time, Sara’s advance orders sell out. And each month, she switches up the menu.
She’s taking orders again this month with pick up set for Saturday, May 30 . As of this morning, her blueberry galettes, Middle Eastern sourdough loaf, smoky carrot sandwiches, sweet potato on green sauce galettes were sold out. Her white bean kale pesto dip, Tahini cookies, strawberry coconut honey cake, strawberry oat bars, sourdough flatbread pita pockets filled with carrot or collards and more were still available online.
Sara, who’s been featured in numerous stories and on stages for her approach to food, has been surprised by the support. Prior to doing the advance orders this year, Sara had done outdoor pop-ups in Birmingham for two to three years, setting up a table with her food wares at places such as Pepper Place.
By shifting to an advance order format with just a monthly visit to Birmingham, the trips are easier on Sara, who is also a married mother or a 1 year-old.
“It’s been good,” she said. “I’m getting to the point where I feel comfortable doing this.”
Chanda Temple is an award-winning writer living in Birmingham, Ala. She blogs at http://www.chandatemplewrites.com. If you have a food story idea, email her at chandatemple@gmail.com. Follow her on Instagram at @chandatemple.
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