Our Story
It Was Only A Dream...
My dream was to open up a small restaurant with my father. Sadly, he passed away April 2018, about three weeks after I signed my lease to open up a little cooking booth in the mall. His passing delayed my opening, but with encouragement from my family I finally opened up in June 2018. I started out as a dessert booth in the Market Place at Steamtown mall in Scranton, PA. I was baking cobblers, pound cakes, and even making ice cream. In January 2019, I added hearty meals to my menu.
I became so busy that I could no longer keep up in the booth at the mall, so I moved to a small restaurant in downtown Scranton February of 2020. Shortly after, we started offering catering and then about three weeks later the pandemic hit. It was rough, but we did not give up and continued pushing on.
The community showed us so much love and support, and I am forever grateful! We are bringing Southern Hospitality to Northeastern PA. I feel it is a privilege and honor to be unique Southern Food spot in our small town up North!
I'm So Grateful
I am grateful to have the help of my sister Carolyn (the “Salmonista,” who has created most of the salmon dishes). She has been with me from day-one, helping me with all my dreams of cooking and baking. We have different tastes and styles, and that brings you get the best of both worlds. She is so creative and wonderful at staying focused and getting things done quickly. I am also thankful for Chef Harris from Lackawanna College. We met him way back in the Summer of 2018, and he joined our team in February 2020. He is an outstanding chef and has taught us so many different things and introduced us to so many wonderful people in the food industry!
My other helpers are my two teenagers and my niece. They may be young, but they learn fast and have helped us from the very beginning. Paradise Soulfood would not have been able to keep open with out the help of friends and family. Thank you to everyone who helped make my dreams come true!
Hopes & Wishes
We have shifted our focus from desserts to food at the restaurant, but are bringing desserts back soon! We hope to add homemade ice cream, as well as rolled ice cream, homemade cones, and more desserts to the menu before the end of the summer!
Remember… a lot of the menu is made-to-order. We are not a fast food spot, so it’s always best to try and call in your order to see the wait time.
Thanks for being part my story. Feel free to email us anytime – we love to hear from customers! [email protected]
