From Lousiana with Love

Creole Soul in Seattle Southside

“Every day is Mardi Gras here." — Hampton Isom, owner of Creole Soul

In this new series - "Seattle Southside Stories" - we're shining a light on the people behind the places that make our region curiously wonderful. To kick it off, meet Hampton Isom, a former pro basketball player, flight attendant, and the chef/owner of Creole Soul food truck and restaurant who’s spicing up the food scene with authentic southern flavors.

Walk into Creole Soul on a Saturday night, and you might think you’ve stumbled through a portal that transported you from Seattle Southside to New Orleans. The rich smell of freshly made gumbo fills the air, people sway to a live band, and purple beads adorn the walls. At seven feet tall, Isom cuts a striking figure in the small space tucked away in “Backstage Alley” in downtown Des Moines, Washington, just a few minutes from his home. He opened Creole Soul in 2021 as an extension of his popular food truck. Already, the restaurant and bar (which is only for patrons 21 and older) is filled with gifts from customers, like a grandfather clock and a basketball to recognize his former life as a professional basketball player who competed in leagues across the world — just one of many jobs the eclectic business owner has held throughout his 61 years of life.
Mardi gras masks, neon signs, and a mural make every day feel like a party at Creole Soul.

"If It's Not From Lousiana, I Won't Make It"

In a region where southern food is hard to come by, Isom, a native of New Orleans, gives the region a taste of authentic southern comfort food. That means not only recreating dishes from his childhood, like creamy crawfish mac n’ cheese, crispy fried gator, and spicy gumbo, but sourcing nearly all of his ingredients straight from the South. When he started selling food here, he couldn’t find the ingredients he wanted, so he enlisted his daughter to ship them to him.


“You can’t get bread like this here,” says Isom, referring to the fluffy baguettes he uses to make po' boy sandwiches. “The bread makes the sandwich.”

“To this day, I will not cook something in that kitchen if I don't have it from Louisiana because I'm so used to cooking it, it’d change the flavor, it’d change the whole dish,” he says. “If I can't get it from Louisiana, or the plane is delayed or something, I say, “Hey, I'm out of this for the day. Sorry.”

A Bloody Mary at Creole Soul comes with a fried gator garnish.
A po' boy sandwich made with bread and other ingredients imported from Louisiana.
A po' boy sandwich made with bread and other ingredients imported from Louisiana.

A Love Passed Down Through Generations

Cooking was an essential part of Isom’s childhood, even if food was in short supply. “I grew up in the projects where I didn't have anything,” he says.

Resources may have been tight, but the kitchen was always bursting with love and creativity. He learned to make the dishes he serves today from his grandmother, who was Creole, and his mother—"two of the best cooks in the world.”

“My grandmother made everything from scratch,” he tells us. “A pinch of this, a dab of that, you know…it's just pour and go. So that's what I do today. I don't even have to taste my food. I know exactly what it tastes like without even putting it in my mouth.”

Though he dreamed of getting into the food business, his life took a circuitous path. He was recruited to play pro basketball for international leagues across the globe. Later, he moved to Dallas and briefly owned a nightclub.

Touches of New Orleans are sprinkled throughout the restaurant, like coffee cans from iconic business Cafe Du Monde.

From the South to Seattle Southside

In 2014, he took a job as a cargo handler for Alaska Airlines, which brought him to the Seattle area. In that role, he started dabbling with cooking for the crew. A few years later, he transitioned to becoming a customer service agent and later, a flight attendant. In his spare time, he worked on launching a food truck, and in 2018, Dat Creole Soul came to life. It quickly gained buzz as he partnered with wineries and breweries around town.

Meanwhile, Isom met his wife, Christine Isom, who lived in Des Moines. The couple made a home in the quiet waterfront city, and eventually, the business gained enough steam to allow Isom to leave the airline and focus on food full-time. Though the food truck is still alive and well, the brick-and-mortar location has been a welcome addition.

Building Community, One Dish at a Time

The restaurant is open in the evenings, Thursday through Saturday, and has a weekly Sunday brunch with bottomless mimosas and freshly baked beignets. They’re also booking live music as often as they can—another way Isom brings his heritage to Seattle Southside.

“When you think of New Orleans, you think about good music and good food, plain and simple,” he says.

His Northwest neighbors have proven to love it as well. “When I brought live music, people just started swarming in,” he says.

Spreading the Love



Though he’s got plenty of pots on the stove—literally and figuratively—Isom hasn’t forgotten what it’s like to need help. He frequently hands out dozens of free meals to anyone he sees in need. He also founded a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Dat Creole Soul Lagniappe, to provide meals to unhoused individuals. (“Lagniappe,” a term that refers to the spirit of hospitality, roughly translates to “a little extra”).

As the business grows, Isom never takes his success for granted. While he took a long and winding path to get to where he is, he’s proud of all the achievements he made along the way. “If I was to die right now, I think I'd be content with my life,” he reflects.
Catfish with waffle fries at Creole Soul.
Catfish with waffle fries is one of the most popular dishes at Creole Soul.
A basketball on the bar is a nod to Isom's days as an international pro basketball player.
The bar at Creole Soul is decked out with symbols of New Orleans, like an umbrella used in the "second line," a New Orleans tradition wherein a group of people dance and march to mark special occassions.

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Annie Atherton

Author

Annie Atherton

Senior Content Writer

Annie Atherton is the Senior Content Writer at Explore Seattle Southside. As a (mostly) lifelong resident of the Seattle area, she is very proud to call the region home and to talk it up to all who will listen.