麻豆传媒

For Antonio Langston, who goes by Tony, his love of cooking started with his great-great-grandmother Orie Bowens, called Ora by family, from South Carolina.

Langston, 51, is the owner of Soul Food Island on N.C. Highway 181 in Oak Hill across from Oak Hill Elementary School.

The menu at Soul Food Island changes, but it鈥檚 always soul food favorites. On a recent Friday at lunchtime, there was fried chicken, three types of fish, smothered pork chops, polish sausage, macaroni and cheese, shrimp and grits, fried okra, rice and gravy, pinto beans, coleslaw and green beans on the menu. All made from scratch, Langston said. His son Christian and employee Isaiah Davis help him in the restaurant.

While his mother also knows how to cook, it was Ora who started Langston's love of cooking.

鈥淭hat's who taught me how to make the meatloaf,鈥� Langston said, pointing to Ora's prominent photo in the restaurant. 鈥淭hat's who raised me right there.鈥�

Langston, who also is a licensed barber, grew up in South Carolina and New York City. It was in Manhattan that he learned his first real dish, a lemon chicken recipe. Once he started cooking it for people and seeing their reaction, he was hooked.

鈥淚 was like, 鈥極K, this makes people happy. I enjoy making people happy. Let's try it,'" Langston said.

He later moved to Burke County from South Carolina when he married a Burke County native.

In Burke County, he started a food truck and ran it for three years before he decided to open the restaurant in Oak Hill, which opened in June 2024.

Langston still runs his food truck and caters. In his spare time, he teaches private classes in visual art. He proudly shows photos of his paintings, which include people and landscapes.

Langston starts his day around 4:30 or 5:30 a.m.

While eating lunch at the restaurant, Catharine Franklin and Leslie Hawkins聽said they try to eat at the restaurant at least once a month.聽

The pair got to know Langston and his food when he would take his food truck to Catawba Brewing in 麻豆传媒.

Franklin said she and Hawkins work in downtown Morganton, but Langston's food is worth the drive.

鈥淚t's a filling, hot lunch,鈥� Hawkins said.

鈥淲e were very excited when he got a brick-and-mortar restaurant we could come to,鈥� Franklin said.

Eddie McCoy said he and his wife met Langston when he was starting his food truck.

鈥淲e fell in love with him because of the way he cooks and his outgoing personality,鈥� McCoy said. 鈥淗e loves everybody and everybody loves him. He calls my wife mom.鈥�

McCoy said he and his wife eat at Soul Food Island at least once a week, sometimes twice a week. Langston made the couple鈥檚 Thanksgiving meal this year, McCoy said.

鈥淭hat was a big hit. He did a good job,鈥� McCoy said. 鈥淲e just think the world of him. He鈥檚 going to be successful.鈥�

Carla Hensley works next door at Oak Hill Grocery.

Hensley said last year for Thanksgiving, she was working at the store and Langston was getting food ready for his family鈥檚 meal. She said he brought food for her to the store because he knew she would be working on the holiday.

She said Langston reaches out to help people in the community.

鈥淗e always makes sure you don鈥檛 go hungry, that鈥檚 for sure. He always makes sure your plate has plenty of food," Hensley said.

Hensley, her daughter, Beverly Piercy, and grandchildren, Ella and Athena, brought Langston a loaf of pumpkin bread for Christmas.聽

鈥淚 had to do something with them,鈥� Piercy said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e always so nice to us.鈥�

Langston made sure to get hugs after they gave him the pumpkin bread and asked Ella and Athena what they wanted for Christmas.

鈥淚t's just a homey place,鈥� Langston said. 鈥淵ou know, this ain't nothing fancy. Ain't none of us fancy. We don't do nothing fancy. We just love people. Love doing what we do and that's it, you know. No more, no less.鈥�

Langston said he would like to grow the business.

鈥淭his food business, what I get out of it is the satisfaction of pleasing people,鈥� Langston said. 鈥淏ecause, trust you, I'm not making the money it might look like I鈥檓 making. The money ain't there yet. I'm not really worried about that.鈥�

The restaurant is open from noon to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday..