Our Story
Meet Owner Constance Pullam
There are a lot of hidden gems in Denton, but not all of them have quite the same soul. Formerly located at 500 N. Bell Ave., Eatie’s did and continues to still serve the community.
Constance Pullam and Delverk Woods, co-owners of Eatie’s, partnered with opened in February 2017 and have been making their sought-after soul food dreams a reality ever since.
Woods, who is one of the head cooks and oversees the Eatie’s Houston location, is pleased with the momentum the business has picked up in such a short time.
“That is excellent,” Woods said. “It’s a good feeling — it means people believe in your food and like what you’re doing.” With encouragement from friends and family, Woods decided to turn his hobby of cooking into a business venture, and Eatie’s opened within the same week. He partially credits the ease of restaurant life to his grandfather. “I’ve always been a cook,” Woods said. “My grandfather owned a small restaurant in Denton a long time ago, so it’s kind of in my genes to do it.”
Having been a Denton resident since 2003, Woods was motivated to specifically open a restaurant in Denton when he noticed the absence of other soul food places in town. They had the little barbecue stands of course, but no one was really making oxtails and neckbones — the kind of thing people really like on a ‘soul food Sunday,’” Woods said. “They needed something here in this community.”
Community is the foundational element of Eatie’s. Pullam and Woods, who met through their church community, aspire to use their love of cooking to bring the people together. Meeting and forming bonds with the people who patronize Eatie’s is Pullam’s favorite part of the business. “I just really enjoy people, and I constantly meet so many different people from all walks of life by.”
Marissa Listenbee, 24, is one of Eatie’s regular customers. After dining with them for the first time she quickly formed a friendly relationship with Pullam, who responds, “For you, anything,” when Listenbee asks for a wing combo.
Pullam is a natural in the kitchen. With many different orders to prepare, she glides through the narrow space with ease, getting all dishes prepared in the span of just minutes.
With so much recent success in the last year, Pullam and Woods have transitioned to catering, meal preps and more.
“People will say, ‘If you’re not cooking, I don’t want it”.
Though her smile and welcoming nature are ever-present, as with every business, Pullam finds that there are still a few difficulties to owning a rapidly growing business.
“Working for yourself, sometimes by yourself [can be difficult],” Pullam said. All my good days definitely outweigh the bad, so I won’t complain.”
Running Eatie’s has allowed Pullam and Woods to put themselves in a position to be able to provide more than just good food.
Some of their accomplishments include:
“Quakertown Park has a huge homeless population,” Pullam said. “A lot of times [they] don’t have any food to eat, so if we had extra food left at the end of the day I’d give it to them or tell them to come at 3 when we close. It’s really a blessing to be able to do that.”
Woods wants to extend Eatie’s influence in the community even more, too.
“We’ve given many scholarships to kids in the community, but we want to give more,” he said. “I really hope Eatie’s will be a big giver to the community as far as our kids.”
Now located in Fort Worth and Houston Eatie’s continues to serve. Our motto is food so deelish! No job is too big or small. And we also travel!