Sugar, Spice, Everything Nice

The idea for Damas—a restaurant Amanda Morrison started as a pop-up venue on the grounds of the Goodwood Museum & Gardens last March—was born over a couple of margaritas. 

“It’s always been important to me to support other women in the [restaurant] industry,” says Morrison, who previously owned Poco Vino Wine Bar & Market as well as the Southside’s Happy Motoring. “For the longest time in Tallahassee, I didn’t have other women to soundboard with.”

On this night, Morrison got together with chefs Katie Spetman and Sylvia Gould. They had never met, “… but they’d known of each other and admired each other’s work,” Morrison explains. The idea was to hash out a project that would celebrate women through a culinary lens in celebration of Women’s History Month. The result was Damas, a pop-up restaurant (with a name that translates to “ladies”) that offered four weeks of chef’s dinners in the Goodwood’s Rough House as well as a wine list comprised of offerings exclusively from female vintners. 

Photo courtesy of The Workmans

Reservations for the four-week run sold out in an hour, Morrison says. Social media and word-of-mouth recommendations piqued interest, and the trio, along with sous chef Jasmine Dunn, began to explore ways to allow the community to experience Damas, including happy hours and offerings during museum events. When the pop-up ended, Spetman and Gould took on other opportunities, but “Jasmine and I weren’t ready to let this go,” Morrison says. 

A lease was signed, and Dunn took on the role of executive chef while Morrison took on the front of the house and personalized the dining space with foliage from the museum grounds to evoke a European bistro feel. The permanent version of Damas debuted in October with Friday and Saturday brunch service from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The menu features seasonal, locally sourced ingredients combined to create elevated classics such as the Farmers Market Quiche or Frittata, the Garden Baguette, and Southern Niçoise Salad. A starter not to miss is Caviar Deviled Eggs—the caviar comes from the Louisiana Caviar Co., a woman-owned fishery. 

The beverage menu includes coffee, tea, and spritzes but features female winemakers, including Figuiere Méditerranée Rosé of Provence, France, Sokol Blosser Evolution Pinot Noir of Willamette Valley, Oregon, and Vins el Cep “Kila” Cava of Penedes, Spain. Wine is sold by the glass or the bottle, with a premier wine list offered by the bottle. Damas also welcomes guests to bring their own wine, which can be served with a corkage fee. 

Photo courtesy of The Workmans

“We are being very intentional about maximizing the experience in our unique location,” Morrison says. Damas plans to be event-driven, offering opportunities that coincide with museum events, private events, chef’s dinners, and events of their own creation, such as porch bar happy hours with a featured menu item that’s “fun and playful,” Morrison says, describing past events as featuring Champagne and hot dogs and another with caviar and tater tots—“something people can grab quickly and go spread out a picnic blanket or sit with on one of the beautiful benches on the grounds around us with their dogs and children.” 

Damas also offers a Cookbook Club, a monthly potluck event inspired by a TikTok trend. “It’s like a traditional book club experience, but everyone reads about a specific chef or cookbook and cooks a dish and brings it to share,” Morrison describes. Reservations are required and sell out quickly. Seating is communal and encourages connection. “Everyone comes with their A game, and it’s a wonderful night,” she says. 

That, she says, is her favorite part of Damas. “People feel comfortable here, to come and stay,” she says. “They can kick off their shoes and order another glass of wine. It’s an experience you just don’t get at many places.”