FORT PIERCE, Fla. — Fort Pierce was the place to be this weekend to hear the best blues and sample the best barbecue and burgers South Florida has to offer.
As WPTV Reporter Mello Styles found out, it was also an opportunity for small business owners looking for a boost, even those not rooted on the Treasure Coast.
"It's always good for me to go different places and to advertise myself." says the owner of Mama D's Calabash Kitchen, Deborah Horton.
She drove about 60 miles to set up shop... And hopes those who sample her food, make the trip to see her in Riviera Beach.
"When I come to events like this, I have folks that come down to my regular location in Riviera Beach," Horton said.
It's a way for some chefs to show off their hard work.
"The main thing we want to come out to this event for is to bring the real food out here. You know we the real deal Holyfield out here." says David Campbell, who owns A1 Soulfood.
And for people like Campbell, they love what they do.
"We do stuff straight from the soul and straight from the heart," Campbell said.
Then you have those that aren't selling food, like Hank Berry of Carpenter on Board, testing their side business.
"It just gets you out into the community, and lets you get feedback from people," Berry said. "See how they react to your stuff. It's not a huge lucrative thing, but it's a good opportunity to get to know your community.
Even, as Horton says, when it isn't your home community.
"It's still a business, but we get to go places," Horton said. "And it benefits every side. It doesn't matter brick and mortar or the truck. We get to meet different people. But with the same goal of growing small businesses and keeping money in the community."
