As you might be aware, the owner of the Little Cookie Shop, Jamie Tull, has recently purchased Llama’s Pizza. There have been many questions asked. Why did she make the purchase? What do cookies have to do with pizza? What does this mean for Llama’s Pizza?
Jamie Tull is a Palestine native, born in Sullivan, but raised here in Palestine as the middle child in a low-poverty family. According to Tull, she “grew up here pretty much dirt broke.”
As a child, Tull did not dream of owning an ice cream shop or a restaurant; instead, she says, “I wanted to work for the IRS as a kid.”
That’s not a childhood dream job you hear every day! She had been into cooking and baking, though, since her preteen days, which amounts to over thirty years.
So if she didn’t purchase Llama’s because she’s always wanted to own a restaurant, why did she purchase it? She was concerned that there really isn’t a pace in town where kids and teens can go to just hang out. “So basically, I knew it wasn’t open much anymore, and what I’m trying to do is not really invest for myself, but for my kids and the community.”
For now, she’s not planning anything too radical for the restaurant, but is remodeling the interior of the restaurant so that they can offer dine-in service once again.
As an owner of two food establishments, Tull has no trouble identifying her biggest challenge. “It’s a lot of time management … The reason is you have scheduling, ordering, customers, and then of course bills.”
But the job isn’t without its perks. When asked what the easiest part of her job is, Tull replied, “Sampling. Sampling products. Who doesn’t like doing that, right?”
Tull clearly enjoys being creative and also said that another favorite part of her job is the people of the community. Unfortunately, working for herself means she works long hours. The irony is not lost on her that she quit an 8-hour a day job to work a 24-hour a day job.
For those who have yet to experience The Little Cookie Shop, Tull doesn’t hesitate to recommend her personal favorite. “My favorite would be-I’m a chocaholic, so my favorite would be chocolate chunk because it’s a classic cookie with just the right amount of chocolate.”
