Deeply rooted in tradition, comfort and — above all else — delicious taste, quality southern cooking is a Cullman staple year-round. However, when the leaves start to turn and Alabama summers (finally) give way to crisp falls — that’s when the dining room table truly takes center stage. “Really, when the football goes up in the air, that’s when it’s a game changer for us here,” says Laci Schuman, owner of Southern Eats, a grab-and-go meal service that allows locals to serve home-cooked meals on the fly.

Schuman’s cooking acumen started early on in life. Her upbringing, she says, played a big role in her decision to commit herself to the kitchen full time (a waitress, caterer and an Italian grandmother are just some of the stand-out chefs that make up her family tree). It wasn’t until Schuman saw a clear need for home-cooked meals in the Cullman community, however, that the foundation for Southern Eats started to take root.

“Back in 2014, Stephanie Jowers and I saw a need,” Schuman says. “Everyone was so busy and felt like Stephanie and I were the only people cooking for our families. So we thought, ‘you know, maybe we should do something about this.’”

Schuman and Jowers started off small. Early on, their calling card was sending friends and family home with their famed strawberry pretzel salad — a delicious blend of crushed pretzels, fresh strawberries and a Jello blend that Schuman could make with her eyes closed. “I got that recipe from my mother in law,” Schuman says.

Thanks to social media, word soon began to spread about Schuman and Jowers’ knack for whipping up mouthwatering casseroles, side dishes, and as Schuman likes to say, “bowls of comfort,” that left the entire family full and satisfied while still having time to attend every dance recital, football practice and Wednesday-night church service. Most of the time, Schuman says, her church’s parking lot served as the growing business’s storefront. “We actually cooked out of Stephanie’s house and would meet people in our church parking lot,” Schuman says with a smile. “We did that for about a year.”

Finally, in 2015, the pair decided to fully commit to their thriving “side-hustle” and Southern Eats was born. Each week, Shuman and Jowers would load up carts of groceries, get to cooking, and stock the ‘fridge with stacks of tin containers that would eventually land on kitchen tables across Cullman county. “By the time we opened, it didn’t take long to get rolling,” Schuman says. “The customer base was already there.”

Since then, Schuman says, business has stayed strong. Now the sole leader of Southern Eats (Jowers moved on to children’s ministry at St. John’s), Schuman has built a team of both devout customers and loyal team members. The kitchen, she says, is always busy.

“More than cooking, I love to serve people,” she admits while prepping the store, located at 221 2nd Ave. SE, for another busy Friday morning. The family-first feel of Southern Eats permeates every aspect of the business. Behind the scenes, Schuman says, her team members — Kim Priest, Kyla Campbell, Sam Dawson and Micah Kitchens — make sure every casserole is prepared with care and served with a smile, ensuring each customer is given the best experience. “I call them all my treasures,” Schuman says with sincerity. “To have people that care about this business like it’s their own, I’m just forever grateful for that.”

Keeping coolers stocked with the freshest dishes and sides — like the always-favorite poppy seed chicken, savory chicken salads, scratch-made sausage balls and heartwarming yeast rolls — is a labor of love for the Southern Eats team, Schuman says. Offering “staple casseroles” like weeknight chicken and rice as well as rotating Mexican and Italian options, Southern Eats has become a name that’s synonymous with comfort in Cullman and surrounding communities.

“We try to make real food that’s from Cullman and for Cullman,” Schuman says. “We’re ingrained in Cullman, and I hope our food shows that.”