North Texas Daily

Nestled deep in the heart of Denton on Carroll Street next to Ashes Smoke Shop lies a hidden gem that seems to only be known to people by word-of-mouth. In fact, if you blink, you might miss it.

Known for its quality of food and friendly atmosphere, Scrumpdiliumptious is probably a good fit for those with an interest in generational recipes and classic spins on traditional Cajun foods. Some may call it soul food, but the owners leave that up to their customers to decide.

“We cook the food that we like, and we put it out there,” owner Rose Randolph said. “We want you to leave with an experience.”

With the help of her husband Lanel Randolph, Rose has morphed Scrumpdiliumptious from an idea to a full-fledged venture.

“I was sitting in front of the computer and I was like, ‘Scrumpdiliumptious!’” Rose said. “It popped in my head, and we went with that.”

“Everything is made from scratch — nothing is boxed,” Lanel added.

The Randolph’s goal to bring quality food started off when Rose was just 14 years old.

Rose pours warm icing onto a 7-up cake. Josh Jamison

As high school sweethearts, Rose used to bring an assortment of cakes for Lanel to try, which sparked the idea of Scrumpdiliumptious. As her cakes started to gain attention, Lanel began to realize just how much culinary potential Rose had.

“My friends all liked her cakes,” Lanel said. “We would literally be fighting over her cakes.”

It wasn’t until college when they both made the jump and started to make that dream into a reality after a professor commented on their business plan.

“[Lanel] was taking a class for his master’s and he put together this business plan for a project,” Rose said. “The professor commented on Lanel’s and said, ‘You should take this seriously,’ [which] gave us confirmation to do this.”

From there, the Randolph’s business started off in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. A city known for its flavor,  Scrumpdiliumptious had to up its game.

With connections in Baton Rouge, Lanel was able to get retail stores to carry Rose’s cakes, and within hours, the sweets would sell out.

Photo by Josh Jamison

“The owners would call us and say, ‘Send us some more cakes,’” Lanel said. ” [Rose] was pregnant at that time, but she kept hustling and making cakes and I kept husting and got them into the stores.”

It was their passion combined with a clear demand for their cakes that led the Randolphs one step closer to the dream they always had.

“This made me believe she had something special — I told her years ago she would have her own restaurant.” Lanel said.

Nine years later and in a new town, Rose and Lanel officially opened Scrumpdiliumptious in Denton. Constructed from generations of family recipes, Rose decided to keep true to her roots while also branching out into other types of food. From chicken to jambalaya and gumbo, the Randolph’s have kept the spirit of the family recipes intact.

Run solely on tasty food and customer service, the Randolphs’ aim to continue to bring people in by word-of-mouth.

“We intentionally put no sign outside the building except the banner right above the door because we want people to hear about Scrumpdiliumptious due to its food,” Lanel said.

Ever since its opening, the restaurant has created a tight-knit community that has been expanding, especially on Twitter where Denton students have been spreading the word.

Rose Randolph and her daughters stand in front of the banner in front of their establishment. It features a drawn portrait of Rose’s grandmother. Josh Jamison

“It is such a great place to eat at,” UNT biology major Ashley Mghlanga said. “The food is good and so is the service. I definitely support this family business.”

And family business it is, as the Randolphs’ have used it to remind their children that through hard work and effort, anything is possible.

“We homeschool our children,” Rose said. “We teach them how to be leaders… managerial skills. It’s teaching them life skills – how to be good people in the world and how to provide.”

Juggling six kids and running a small business can be a recipe for chaos on its own, but the Randolphs are no strangers to hard work.

After all, it’s hard work built on a simple idea that got them here.

“It all started off as [just] an idea,” Rose said.

Featured Image: Scrumpdiliumptious recognizes the importance of family as the Randloph’s recruit their little ones to help out around the establishment. This establishes values in their children as well as practical values and important social skills. Josh Jamison