Lenore Lindsey was just 17 when she placed her baby boy for adoption in 1974. Ever since, she hasn’t stopped thinking about him, always wondering what he looked like or how his life turned out.

‘You can’t tell this story without thanking God’

To her surprise, Lindsey discovered that a frequent visitor to her Give Me Some Sugah bakery in Chicago was her long-lost son, Vamarr Hunter.

Lindsey learned that Hunter was a regular customer and discovered he lived just a block from the shop.

“You can’t tell this story without thanking God,” Hunter told Today’s Laura Jarrett. “I was just led the entire way.”

 

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Hunter enlisted professional help to find his mother

Hunter, now 50, learned he was adopted at 35. After years of searching for his biological mother, he realized he needed professional help. In 2022, he asked genetic genealogist Gabriella Vargas to find his birth mother.

Vargas searched and found Hunter’s mother, then reached out to Lindsey, 67, to provide her with Hunter’s contact information. She mentioned that if Lindsey were interested, Hunter would be thrilled to meet her.

Lindsey contacted Hunter from the bakery line, unsure what to expect.

“Because I wasn’t sure who he was or anything,” she explained, per Today.

Vamarr Hunter knew there was more to the bakery than just the delicious treats

When Hunter saw Give Me Some Sugah on his caller ID, he was confused about why the bakery would contact him.

“I thought, ‘I didn’t order anything,’” he recalled. “Then I heard a voice, and I was like, ‘Miss Lenore?’”

Upon realizing what had happened, Lindsey and Hunter began screaming in disbelief — the 67-year-old’s long-lost son had visited the shop on a weekly basis for over a decade. The lemon bars and pancakes were his favorite items on the menu.

In addition to the delicious sweets, Hunter knew there was something about Lindsey’s shop that felt like home.

“The whole vibe, it was just comfortable,” Hunter said.

Rising to the occasion in times of need

Lindsey had undergone breast cancer surgery prior to the two reuniting, and shortly after she had a stroke. Hunter immediately stepped in, quitting his job to work at the bakery full-time to support his mother.

Now, the mother-and-son duo work side by side, crafting delicious treats and attracting new customers to the shop.

Hunter has perfected his poundcake recipe, something he is most proud of now that he and his mother are working together.

“You can’t make up for time and days gone by,” Hunter told ABC Chicago. “What you can do is properly utilize the time that you have.”

Hunter, a father of four, works at Give Me Some Sugah full-time and plans to pass the business down to his children when he retires.

The post A Recipe For Reunion: Chicago Baker Discovers Her Long-Lost Son Is A Regular Customer appeared first on Blavity.