Description

The Northern Virginia Black Chamber of Commerce is excited to expand our work with our membership on a new series of events. Chamber in the Morning is a breakfast networking and spotlight opportunity for our members who provide coffee, breakfast, and a safe space to do your work. Because of our "Chamber Night Out" series, we would also like to service our early riser. Tickets are limited and include breakfast and beverages. To honor "Black Business Month," we intentionally use the date of this event on August 23. On August 23, 1900, the National Negro Business League was founded (NNBL) by several black entrepreneurs, which includes Booker T. Washington. The league, which predated the United States Chamber of Commerce for 12 years, strives to enhance the commercial and economic prosperity of the African American community. The NNBL was formally incorporated in 1901 in New York and established hundreds of chapters across the United States. In 1966, the National Negro Business League was reincorporated in Washington, D.C., and renamed the National Business League. Our Featured Business, also sponsoring our Inaugural "Chamber in the Morning," is Mrs. Jo's Petite Eats in Tyson's Corner, VA. Chef Erinn S. Roth hailed from Enterprise, Mississippi, earning her BS Degree in Chemistry/Pre-Medicine from Alcorn State University, Lorman, Mississippi, where she was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant. She has served in numerous stateside and international assignments beginning at Fort Hood, Texas, and culminating in Arlington, Virginia. Chef Roth retired from the U.S. Army on January 1, 2017, after 24 years and fifteen days as a Lieutenant Colonel.
Before retiring, Chef Roth founded Ms. Jo's Petite Sweets in 2016 and named it after her beloved late Mother, Mrs. Jo Bradford Hardaway, as an eternal tribute. Mrs. Hardaway always encouraged her family and loved ones to cherish each day and enjoy life's sweetest moments. Ms. Jo's Petite Sweets specializes in made-from-scratch, small-batch Southern-inspired desserts with a French influence. They also create heavy and light hors d'oeuvres tables for corporate and private catering. Ms. Jo's Petite Sweets has catered at national conventions, trade shows, wine, and food festivals, as well as private and corporate functions. Ms. Jo's has showcased its petite sweets at the MetroCooking DC Food Show for three years. In 2018, Ms. Jo's won First Place in the MetroCooking Gingerbread House competition. Chef Erinn Roth has honorably served her country and continues to serve her community through her talents as a regionally recognized pastry chef. She entered the nationally renowned Pastry School at L'Academie de Cuisine, Gaithersburg, Maryland, on January 3, 2017, where she graduated on December 15, 2017. She is a graduate of the Boots to Business Program, Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities at Cornell University, School of Hotel Administration; a graduate of the Dog Tag Fellowship Program, where she received a Certificate in Business Administration from Georgetown University; and is a graduate of the WeWork/Bunker Labs Veterans-In- Residence Program in Washington, DC. In 2019, Ms. Jo's Petite Sweets partnered with the Loudoun United Football Club for its inaugural season at its new stadium and introduced its petite sweets to Loudoun County. In 2021, Chef Erinn was a semi-finalist on the FOX baking competition show, "Crime Scene Kitchen," and now has the moniker "Celebrity Chef." Chef Erinn is extremely pleased in creating and establishing Mrs. Jo's Petite Eats: Patisserie & Café in the PenFed Credit Union Corporate Headquarters, McLean, Virginia. This is where Southern Cuisine with a French flair happens. Life is Sweet; Have a Treat!