Jerry and Amanda are serving up fresh and flavorful meals on the streets of St. Augustine, but don't expect just a plain old burger, they have a unique menu you wouldn't expect to come out of a truck. If you haven't tried it yet, do it...You won't be disappointed!
What made you decide to open this business?
Originally we were interested in opening a brick and mortar in Jacksonville, but after months of searching without any specific location catching our eye and realizing the hefty cost of building out a brick and mortar to execute our vision, I jokingly suggested a Food Truck; Little did I know, Jerry had already begun to research the ins and outs of operating a food truck in place of a brick and mortar. In what seemed to be no time at all, we purchased an old bread truck and transported it directly to a small business in Middleburg to begin the transformation into Funkadelic Food Truck. Three short months later, it was time for opening day!
What was it like when you first started?
In December 2013, Funkadelic Food Truck was officially open for business! The energy was through the roof! We found it difficult to wrap our heads around the fact that we really did it - we ventured off and truly executed our vision to be entrepreneurs. The crisp winter day was off to a grand start…that is until we arrived at our Opening Day Location to discover our trusty generator had cut off during the commute! Just imagine two individuals running around as if the street had caught fire with no water in sight. Winter chills and high energy quickly turned into frantic calls seeking help to get this generator running ASAP! Graciously enough after many phone calls to friends and family around town, we found a winner!! Before we could blink, a backup generator was onsite and powering the truck. WHEW...Talk about a crash course! Mind you, after we finished up service, we strongly agreed that we just conquered one hell of a day...WE MADE IT!!!
"Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations…the best is yet to come"
Who is the chef and do you come up with your own recipes?
Chef Jerry has a unique pallet favoring heavy flavors. He enjoys sharing his creativity throughout each dish served. He puts a “twist” on each dish incorporating his passion for executing flavorful meals, many of which you wouldn’t expect to be served out of a food truck, such as a whole fried fish! He creates all the sauces and meals in house. Each meal is cooked to order and truly made from scratch. Items such as our bread, seafood, and produce we source locally from small businesses here in St. Augustine.
Where are you from?
We are born and raised in Jacksonville, FL and always loved the St. Augustine area.
What do you enjoy doing when you are not working the food truck?
Soaking up the AC...Just Joking!
We genuinely enjoy spending time together with our two fur babies outdoors. Beach, biking, hiking, and of course eating...We are total foodies!
What are some local restaurants you enjoy eating at?
St. Augustine really does have some gems. We have yet to find a meal that we were completely unhappy with. Restaurants such as The Floridian, Llama, Michaels Tasting Room are all great choices.
What would your customers say they love most about your food?
The spices we use and the unique twist to every dish. No one is ever getting a bland meal off of the Funkadelic Food Truck.
What plans do you have for the business in the future?
Eventually we plan to open a brick and mortar as well as have the food truck for special events and catering.
Anything exciting going on that you want to let your customers know about?
The Funk Mobile that you are seeing on the streets of St. Augustine is Funk 2.0. This is our second “food truck”. Initially we operated the first Funkadelic in Jacksonville for four years. After much success, we were granted the opportunity to sell the big lime green food machine to a couple who are now rocking the streets with a new name and design. Never in a million years would we have imagined that opening a small Food Truck business would turn into something so monumental in our lives. We couldn’t have been more wrong. Funkadelic Food Truck rocked our world and countless memories were made throughout its quest.
Success is an understatement. We are blessed!
When we sold the truck - we moved to the Carribean with the plan to plan to open a cafe in St. John, USVI. This journey lasted all of five months before getting hit head on by Category 5 (some say 6) Hurricane Irma. We were on the island throughout the entire duration of the storm. An experience neither of us will forget. We ended up in a small hall bathroom with five adults and three dogs for hours on end. Irma left little to nothing behind. Ten days later, we were lucky to get a boat to Puerto Rico to catch the last flight back to the states just before Hurricane Maria came barreling through.
Two weeks later we discovered that we were expecting our first child. We couldn’t be more thrilled. His arrival is scheduled to be any day now.
Find them at The Village Garden located at 1480 S Old A1A, St. Augustine, FL 32080
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