WS Chronicle

A new soul food restaurant is coming to East Winston. Next month, Goodness Gracious, which is looking to take customers “back to grandma’s kitchen” is scheduled to open at 2600 New Walkertown Road. 

The restaurant is owned and operated by power couple Damion and Selina Galloway, Winston-Salem natives who started out as a small catering company. Selina said in the beginning they only did small events for family and friends, but word about their food started to get around and in 2021 they purchased a food truck. Selina said she has been amazed at how fast they’ve been able to grow. 

“We started out doing private events and small catering events for our church and people that we knew. Then we were blessed with a food truck last year and now we have the building,” she said. “It’s going so fast it’s almost like we’re dreaming … I’m just grateful God is so good. He has blessed us within a year and it’s been all him because we couldn’t have done this by ourselves.” 

Damion said it has been a blessing to work with his wife and watch everything come together. He said, “In her I have a partner that has the same goals and vision as I do and her passion for the business is beautiful.” 

While Selina handles pretty much everything on the business end, Damion handles all the cooking. When discussing his passion for cooking, Damion said he was in the kitchen at an early age learning the ins and outs from his grandmother and father.

“I had to learn early as a kid because growing up in the South that’s what we do, we’re in the kitchen early,” he said. “I learned a lot from my grandmother and my father who were both great cooks.”

To give the community a taste of what’s to come, last weekend the Galloways hosted a soft opening for Goodness Gracious. In addition to the dozens of reservations made online, there was also a lot of foot traffic that came in to find out what was cooking as well. During the soft opening, the menu consisted of baked chicken, fried chicken, fried shrimp, fried fish, turkey wings and pot roast. 

The side dishes consisted of mac & cheese, fried okra, green beans, rice and gravy, and cabbage. Customers also had their choice of sweet tea and freshly squeezed lemonade and three different homemade desserts: chocolate cake, strawberry pound cake and lemon pound cake. 

Selina said they want to provide good quality, hearty food at a good price. What you won’t find on the Goodness Gracious menu is pork. Galloway said because she comes from a family that has a history of high blood pressure, she has stayed away from pork and other dishes that can cause hypertension. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), African Americans are 54% more likely to be diagnosed with hypertension.

“We want you to eat good and be happy, that’s our slogan. Our specialty is the baked chicken wings and then we have turkey wings, meatloaf, anything grandma used to cook pretty much we have. What keeps us apart is we do not cook with pork and we don’t season with pork unless it’s a catered event and it’s requested,” she said. 

Although they have accomplished a lot in just a year’s time, the Galloways understand that this is only the beginning. Damion said having the keys to his own restaurants motivates him to work even harder. 

“It’s time to grind even harder, that’s how I see it,” he said. “I am blessed to be in this position and have this opportunity to provide a service to the city.” 

For more information on Goodness Gracious, visit “Goodness Gracious of WS” on Facebook.