“It's nice to grow up in an area where there's not a lot of money and then you finally get some of it and you like to share with other people. And you want to see the same thing happen.”
-Melissa Gardner, on creating opportunity in her South St. Pete Community with her success as a chef
She’s started selling food in her grandmother’s yard.
Steaks.
And now the 3 Generations Food Truck owner Melissa Gardner wants to create more than the perfect meal.
She wants to make more opportunity for her friends and neighbors in South St. Pete.
Food trucks have flourished in the pandemic.
And with good reason—think mobile kitchen –with completely outdoor dining.
Gardner is a software engineer by trade, and before her food truck business blew up, she’d been planning to teach coding to people in South St. Petersburg through her business Inner City Coders. LLC.
“I'm still going to take my money that I'm making and build the incubator space for the kid,” said Gardner. “It's still the same plan, just a different route.”
She is opening a physical location at the Manhattan Casino, a historically relevant spot for African American culture South St. Pete.
She’s also the owner of two additional food trucks, which she plans to rent out.
“I just feel like more jobs could be created,” said Gardner. “I feel like more income could come through the community. And I don't want to be the only person doing it.”
For past year, Virginia Johnson has been talking to people in the Tampa Bay area about Life in The Time of Coronavirus.