DeLeon Provisions’

BUONA FORCHETTA

DeLeon Provisions pivots from catering to a food park

Story by LUCY ERSPAMER Photography by KATHY TRAN

Teri De Leon, left, is the executive chef of DeLeon Provisions. Kam De Leon, right, handles the public-facing aspects of the business.

TERI AND KAM DE LEON FITTINGLY MET IN FOOD SERVICE.

They both were waitresses at Chili’s in the Love Field airport 22 years ago.

“We were babies waiting tables together and always kind of said that we should someday open a restaurant,” Kam says.

While their first date was rocky, their reluctant second date proved much more successful — and they’ve been together ever since.

It was 17 years before they felt it was the right time to start their own venture. They spent a year in New York while Teri attended the Culinary Institute of America, the top culinary school in the U.S. In a full-circle moment, Teri then spent many years at Chili’s, developing menu options worldwide, while Kam was a professor at Texas Woman’s University.

“There was this perfect moment a few years ago where we were like, OK, now’s the time,” Kam says.

DeLeon Provisions, a catering company, launched in 2019 to serve East Dallas.

“Catering gave us an opportunity to create our own hours,” Teri says. “When you’re a restaurant, you’re set to when people want you. How do we build the dream that we want to have and make the rules for how we want to live our life?”

When DeLeon Provisions opened, most of its business was delivering meals to families.

“As women and as mothers, there’s a need for helping people feed their families, and there’s a need to help people plan their parties,” Kam says. “The majority of our client base is women.”

When the pandemic struck, they made the decision to double down on the meal delivery aspect of their business. They developed the hugely popular “local box,” a grazing box that features products from various East Dallas food businesses.

Now that people are gathering again, they have paused their meal delivery service and now focus on catering parties and events. A large pull of their business is their grazing boards.

“Charcuterie boards are great because you can serve everyone’s dietary needs with one dish right there,” Kam explains.

She even offers a course to show people how to assemble their own boards.

Teri and Kam work together to run DeLeon Provisions. Teri manages everything food related — from creating menu items to managing the kitchen and staff. Kam handles everything public facing — networking, social media and client development.

“It works perfectly because neither

one of us wants to do or is capable of really doing the other person’s job,” Teri says.

Now, Teri and Kam are announcing their newest project. They purchased the old Keller’s location on Samuell Boulevard and will be developing it into what they have described as a “food park.”

“We like the term ‘food park’ because we want it to be family friendly. We want our client base of family to continue,” Kam says.

The vision for the property is to tear down one of the buildings and create an outdoor venue where large groups can gather and local food businesses can do pop-ups.

“If we can provide a space that’s large, kids can still run around, parents can sit and talk on a Friday night after a football game, and there’s other small businesses here providing food — food trucks, food trailers, pop-ups — it makes it easier for all the East Dallas families. This area needs a place where large families and groups can gather,” Teri says.

The space will include a full bar and a stage for live music and other events.

Teri and Kam have always been dedicated to supporting and highlighting East Dallas businesses, and this new venture is no different.

“I don’t think I have ever used the word ‘competition,’” Kam says.

DeLeon Provisions will continue operations as usual. One of the buildings will be converted into a private commercial kitchen for the business, as they have outgrown shared commercial spaces. Ideally, they will be ready to begin hosting groups in the fall.

Teri and Kam are already looking forward to what their next project will be.

“We’re dreamers,” Kam says. “We truly wake up every morning, like, ‘Let’s go build this empire.’”

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LAW AND ORDER

Booker T.’s mock trial team placed fifth in the nation

Story by RENEE UMSTED | Photo courtesy of KATHY GAMEROS

The mock trial team from Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts placed 11th at last year’s national competition. It was the first time the school had made an appearance there since 2010.

This year, the team finished fifth out of 46. Co-captain and Lakewood neighbor Zoë Gameros, who was on last year’s team, says the previous experience prepared them for a virtual format and showed how other top teams would perform.

“It made a huge difference because we weren’t going into a new arena,” she says.

Having been on the debate team in middle school, she auditioned for mock trial at Booker T. but didn’t make it.

When she was accepted to the team sophomore year, Gameros learned the differences between debate and mock trial. A successful debater knows the facts about the issue at hand. But mock trial, she says, is more of a performance, with actors portraying witnesses. Gameros, a daughter of two lawyers, chose Booker T. for its theatrical opportunities and plans to study film at the University of Texas at Austin next year.

“I started as a lawyer, and I remember thinking that it was going to be impossible to remember all the rule numbers,” she says. “And then eventually, you start catching on to everything and it becomes a bit easier.”

Gameros says being in mock trial has made her a better public speaker and improved her confidence.

“We’re just writing a lot of persuasive outlines and drafts and things like that,” she says. “So it translates to my skills in the classroom when it comes to writing for English, and also thinking on my feet because a lot of mock trial is improvised in the moment.”

Mock trial teams start out the year with a set of case materials, including information about characters. It’s up to the students to parse through the information and assign roles. Lawyers interview witnesses on the stand through direct and cross examination, and they have to know the rules of evidence. At Booker T., there’s no mock trial class, so the team practices outside of school — two days a week before winter break and three to five days a week after the new year. This year’s team included six people and a timekeeper. Five of them are Lakewood residents: Gameros and her sister, Isabel; Claire Taylor; Jude Segrest, and Maxine Louthan. The other co-captain is Abby Chapman, and the time keeper is Erin Mansour. Abigail Matthews of FrancisMatthews LLC was the attorney adviser. The competition was virtual this year. Gameros says she would have preferred it to be in person, but with her teammates used to acting for a camera, they were at an advantage over other schools.

They watched the awards ceremony at Chapman’s house. When the announcer called the sixth place team, Booker T.’s attorney adviser said she didn’t think the team would place. But then they heard, “Fifth place: Texas,” and the room erupted with screams.

“The rounds were really, really hard this year because all of the teams at nationals are amazing,” Gameros says. “I’m so proud of every single person on the team.”

MAXINE LOUTHAN

My favorite part about being on the mock trial team was getting to use my knowledge in the courtroom. After many hours of prepping, seeing what we had prepared and our hard work come to life was what made the experience special to me. Mock trial is a team sport and requires multiple individuals to come together and believe that each person will come through with their importance to the case. Watching my peers and feeling satisfied with my own work was very special. Mock trial gave me a place where I felt fully confident in my abilities. The biggest lesson I learned from mock trial this year was that you’re always capable of much more than you expect. Nationals was one of the biggest learning experiences of my life. I was a double attorney and my co-counsel were both seniors, making me the only freshman in the trial, so I had no room for mistakes. During the one month we had to prepare I was anxious, this was the most responsibility I had ever been given. After placing fifth in the country it made me realize how much I was capable of.